The Swan Maiden
by Lucy Kay
Summary: So he was weird, she admitted it. He was terribly dense, obnoxiously reckless, delightfully humorous, refreshingly fun, strangely handsome - wait, what? Anyways, Molly needed Luke to fall in love with her to break the spell. If she wanted to be a human for her wedding to Gill that is... A romcom rendition of The Swan Princess/Swan Lake. So much fluff it hurts. Picture is not mine.
1. The Usual

**Disclaimer:** I am not affiliated with Harvest Moon and therefore own none of the characters or places used in this story. Furthermore, I am not affiliated with and do not own the rights to _The Swan Princess_ and therefore none of the heavy references in the story.

Hello! Welcome to my first fairytale. Are you excited? I'm pretty excited. I mean – this is a happy story! Well, maybe.

There are two possibilities here. Quick history lesson: the story of _The Swan Princess _has a dozen endings and about two or three of them actually end happily. Most of them consist of the main characters committing suicide or dying in terrible, lonely ways. So I haven't quite made up my mind which way this will swing quite yet. I have two endings planned. One is a sweet happily ever after. The second is a tragedy.

So until I've made up my mind, that's how I'll have to leave you. I hope you're curious enough to stick around! :)

There are thirty-four chapters planned for this story. This chapter is boring. Yay, build up!

* * *

**The Usual**

* * *

Luna looked at the clock again and rolled her eyes in annoyance. Selena carelessly dipped her finger in the mug full of tea across from her. "Lukewarm."

"Figures," Luna sat back in her chair, crossing her arms and legs at the same time. "She's almost never on time."

"But this is one of the first times she's let her tea run cold," Selena observed. The tanned beauty played with the noisy bangles on her wrist as she commented on their missing friend absent-mindedly. "Probably held up with him again. It's happening more and more frequently."

Against her will, Luna looked up at the clock again and let out a huff.

Selena smiled mischievously, showing her near-perfect teeth behind the red lips. "Well, look at it this way. She'll come with a story now."

Just as Luna was about to retort her story couldn't possibly beat the one she was dying to get out, the bell on the door of the Ocarina Inn jingled merrily and fresh air from the late spring afternoon swept in. Both girls at the table straightened their posture and adjusted their hair and outfits, attempting disinterest in the newest girl's tardiness.

The young farmer strode in with excuses: "Sorry I'm late! Gill and I went for a stroll – oh, thanks for ordering for me – and I lost track of the time. By then I realized I was halfway around the island and ten minutes late!" She took a long sip of the strong herb tea in her ceramic mug. When she set it back down on the table with a grimace at the stale taste, two pairs of eyes were watching her. "What?"

Luna fondled one of her pink ponytails and forced a grin. "Oh, nothing! Just catching up with Selena."

"She hasn't said a single interesting thing in the past half hour," Selena tattled. "So, Molly, what's new with Gilligan? Any steamy stories for our gossip hour?"

Rolling her eyes at her friend who was simply purring like a cat at the idea of a romantic encounter, Molly stirred her tea with her pinkie finger. "Nothing steamy to report! You know him better than that. And don't call him 'Gilligan,' his name is just Gill and you know it."

"Jeez, you've become such a snob dating him!" Selena complained. "What happened to the live wire we used to know? Giggling all the way down the street when there wasn't anything funny and doing headstands with me on the beach?"

"Selena, that was when we were children," Luna chided, resting a hand protectively on Molly's forearm. "I personally like the new Molly."

"New Molly? I'm the same!" Molly argued.

"Same?" Selena asked. "Pfft!"

"Dear, you're not the same," Luna shook her head in agreement. "But you're grown up! It's a good change."

Frowning, Molly licked her finger clean and leaned on the table. The bell at the counter went off and the spunky waitress Maya skipped to fill another order across the room. "Let's not talk about me and my apparent transformation. What's up with you guys? I've barely seen you since last week."

Selena shrugged, resting her chin on the table. In order to do so, her chair was pushed out behind her against the wall of the part restaurant part inn. "Dancing. Food. Television."

"Sewing," Luna shrugged. "But I had big news. Now it doesn't seem so big anymore."

Selena and Molly both knew what this was. Luna did it all the time. They gave each other knowing looks. Luna always liked to downplay everything to she did so that her friends would have to practically beg to get whatever it was she wanted to say out in the open. Even then, it was rarely anything at all.

Molly tried first. "Is it a rumor?"

"No."

"Is it a guy?" Selena perked up.

"Kind of."

Molly and Selena looked at each other again, but this time they were both interested. They both scooted their chairs forward.

"A boyfriend?" Molly asked.

"A one night?" Selena ventured.

"A new guy?"

"An ass?"

Luna smiled and tapped her chin in thought. "Hm… one of you said it."

"Which one?-!" Selena reached out and hit Luna's arm impatiently. "Was it the one night stand? Huh, huh?"

"Luna wouldn't!" Molly defended, but quickly turned on her. "Would you?"

"Don't be ridiculous!" Luna shook her head. "Silly geese, it was the new guy!"

"Oh," Selena said and rested her chin on the table again.

"So who is he?" Molly asked. She forgot her tea was cold and sipped it again, making a wry face.

"His name's Julius—"

"Julius? He's not new!" Selena interrupted.

Molly nodded. "Yeah, we knew a Julius back in grade school. Didn't he move away?"

"Ugh, he went to college, guys!" Luna sunk back even deeper into her chair. "So he's kind of new. We haven't seen him in years! Point is, he's back and he's got great new fashion designs for Grandma's shop and he's positively fabulous."

"Is he built?" Selena asked, cocking her head to the side.

Luna wrinkled her nose. "Nah. He's tall and just so polite—"

"Uninterested," Selena cut her off.

"Cool!" Molly interjected. "When do we get to see the new and improved Julius?"

Luna smiled at her. "Hopefully soon. He comes in the shop all the time; if you stop by, you have to give me your opinion on him."

"Will do!"

"Ugh, this isn't fun. Where's the drama? The action?" Selena complained, sprawling her arms out in front of her, nearly knocking over the tea mugs. "We should make Molly feel uncomfortable about Gill. It's so easy."

"No! No, we shouldn't!" Molly protested.

"Mmkay," Luna winked. "You know, I think he's going to propose soon."

"If he won't, I will," Selena threatened jokingly and licked Molly's hand.

Recoiling and rubbing the spit away, Molly said: "Guys, don't be dumb. Gill's far from that. Besides… it's not like I care. I can wait."

"Wait for your baby maker to shrivel to dust, yes, excellent," Selena prodded. "If you guys don't tie the knot soon, he's going to lose his chance at you."

"What do you mean?" Molly frowned.

"I mean if I were you, I'd be heading for the next big thing. A big thing that isn't afraid of commitment and a little action."

"He is _not_ afraid of commitment."

"Then why aren't you engaged?" Luna argued. "You've been dating for over three years!"

Molly shrunk. "I don't know… I guess he's just busy… Or he wants to pick a good moment. Like a Festival or something."

"Aw, that would be so sweet!" Luna clapped.

Selena made another noise of displeasure. "Guys on this island are so cliché."

"Yes, that's why you're going to elope," Molly nodded, knowing this story well enough.

"Damn right I am! Adventure, romance, and rebellion all packed into one lovely package."

Maya suddenly interrupted the conversation, swinging a silver tray just over Molly's head. "Is that it for you guys? I can get you some cookies or something if you want!"

"Nah, I'm good."

"Me, too."

"Yeah, let's be done."

Maya nodded. "Okay, I'll get the che—"

The bell on the door jingled and in walked Owen and Kathy arm in arm. The three girls were silenced and stared in renewed awe at the beautiful blonde and the muscled miner as they found seats on the opposite side of their room for an obvious date. Immediately, the girls were twittering and giggling and gossiping about the possibilities.

Maya rolled her eyes good-humoredly and made her way to the pair of interest to take their order, letting the friends chatter on as usual.


	2. Surprises

_Why_ was this so hard to do?! I can't really explain it, but this chapter was the most irritating thing to write. I've no idea why. But… ugh, I'm glad to see it over and done with. Now I've got a story ahead of me!

* * *

**Surprises**

* * *

Everything was perfect.

Molly couldn't have asked for a better day. Gill, hard-working and so naturally early to rise, arrived at the doorstep to her little farm at eight in the morning. They went for a stroll about the island, sight-seeing the things they had seen a thousand times before. They had a picnic on a neat chiffon blanket in the meadow by the forest. Gill even bothered to pack a thermos of warm peppermint tea – her favorite. They spent the afternoon walking along the sandy beaches, far enough from the waves to avoid adding discomforts to their shoes, and discussed Castanet's improving economy and morale.

"It's really starting to go places," Molly smiled, looking past Gill at the little harbor town. She truly loved it with all of her heart. From the smelly fishery to the peak of the Wizard's house, everything about Harmonica Town was home. The wonderful food, the scenic atmosphere, and the smiling faces of its residents every morning come rain or shine. She mumbled: "I could happily live and die here…"

"It's because of you," Gill said.

Molly turned around, confused.

Obviously, he had not taken into account her last statement. Fumbling a moment, the young man straightened his bolo and corrected himself. "I mean, you're the reason Castanet is back on its feet. We owe you our thanks."

Molly giggled and strode up to him, hands behind her back. "You always make me laugh when you talk like that."

"Like what?"

"Like you personify Castanet or something," She continued grinning. "Like you're responsible. Like you're… I don't know. The mayor or something."

Gill couldn't keep from smirking. "Not yet anyways…"

"Exactly!" Molly poked him in the chest. She loosened the bolo he just tightened. "You need to relax a little bit. Let loose. Breathe! You don't have to be so… professional all the time."

"I'm not about to go cavorting about in the mud, if that's what you want," He shook his head stubbornly.

"I said no such thing," Molly denied, crossing her arms and facing the sea. The sun was just beginning to set. The skies above were still a brilliant blue, but the horizon was showing signs of pink and yellow. The light danced across the calm water. Molly let out a sigh. "It's so beautiful."

Gill cleared his throat. "You know… er… You're quite beautiful, too, Molly."

Molly almost laughed, but she checked herself. Instead, she gave her boyfriend a sneaky sideways glance. "What's this? Trying to be romantic? How very unlike you, Gill."

The poor boy was left crimson, but he didn't say a word. Instead, he made Molly's fantasy come true and carefully got down on one knee in the sand.

"Gill…" Molly started, near the hyperventilation point as she clutched her heart.

Gill took the limp hand that was left hanging at her side and tried to look up into her chocolate eyes and thought again. He looked distastefully around them at the beach. "I decided that this would be the best place… considering you're rather adventurous. This is your sort of thing."

Molly stared at him wide-eyed, not daring to move.

"Molly, you've become such a… refreshing asset to not only Castanet, but to me as well. As a farmer, you've really gone above and beyond. The bells wouldn't have been rung without you… Of course, there wasn't much I could do, but I always hoped there was some way I could help ring—"

"You're seriously going into this now?" Molly cut him off.

Nodding quickly, Gill finally looked her in the eyes. "Right. Um… Molly, I've known you all my life. Since we were children. And I've always known we would be together someday."

"Gill, we've always been together. In the fifth grade, the parents were taking bets to see how long it would take—"

"What I mean is this. This, Molly," He tried to indicate the position they were in at the moment. "Of course, I don't know what kind of husband I will make, but I'm willing to do my best for you. I'm asking you, Molly, for your hand in marriage."

Molly's eyes glowed and her body tensed as he brought out from his pocket… a ring. But the ring wasn't the color she expected. It wasn't the deep azure of the blue bird feather. Rather, it was gleaming white like the diamond it was made from.

Who cares.

Molly let out a scream and instantly stifled it with both of her hands. Gill stared at her in shock, and she let out a small laugh. "Ah, sorry…! I mean, yes. Of course, I'll marry you."

Gill slipped the ring on her finger. There was no surprise it was the perfect fit – he was always getting things spot on. The pair embraced and Molly let a few excited tears slip out.

_This was it. This was finally it!_

After Gill's father Hamilton was informed (he knew of course, and her rejection wasn't even considered so there was no surprise involved) and dinner was over, Molly sat admiring her lovely ring by the light of the fireplace.

Gill came and sat beside her on the sofa in his living room. Hamilton graciously left them alone – he also had quite a bit of work to do spreading the word. The two were quiet for awhile as Gill watched Molly play with her ring. "Do you like it?"

"I love it," Molly said. She meant it, too. But her next sentence brought doubt. "It surprised me though. You know, since it wasn't blue."

"Not blue?" Gill asked. "You don't like it."

"Now don't be silly, I just said I loved it," Molly argued.

Gill remained stubborn. "I can get a new one, if you want it so badly."

"Gill, stop being stupid!" Molly laughed. "It's perfectly fine!"

"I'm not being stupid!"

"Alright, alright. Calm down. I just was surprised that Mr. Tradition himself didn't adhere to one of the biggest ones Castanet has. That's all…"

Gill relaxed his shoulders. "You mean the legend of the blue bird?"

Molly nodded silently.

He let out a sigh of relief. "Molly, that tradition is ancient! There are no more blue birds on Castanet to get feathers from to propose with. That's how old that tradition is."

"I know…"

"Besides, I thought you would like diamond. It's clean and innovative," Gill explained himself.

Molly snuggled up closer to him and curled her legs underneath her, still staring at the fire and how her ring caught the random patterns of light in the dimming room. "It is innovative, isn't it?"

Gill smiled, glad his fiancée was appeased. He leaned his head on hers and they comfortably sat like that together in the dark.

But the gears in Molly's head were turning. She was going to prove him wrong. Just this once. She would find a blue feather. And she couldn't wait to see the shocked look on his face when she would give it to him.


	3. On an Adventure

Maybe this will start to pick things up. Sorry this is so boring right now…

Oh! I'm having major problems with an ending for this story. I've literally got five endings floating around and I need to pin something down so I can comfortably write the rest of this. There is a poll on my profile I would greatly appreciate you taking so I can decide. Please and thank you! :)

* * *

**On an Adventure**

* * *

_Well, I think that's everything…_ Molly thought excitedly, tying tight the laces of her heaviest boots. She double checked her rucksack and found the sandwich she packed for lunch, the hammer she would need to break any rocks in her way, and the axe that might come in handy with any pesky branches.

Glancing in the mirror, Molly stared down at her outfit. It was still spring, but she was so anxious for summer to finally arrive that she hadn't bothered with long pants. In fact, she was rather spirited for her adventure into Fugue, so she had assembled a safari outfit. The only spot she went against was her head and left the large hats in her wardrobe. Her chestnut hair fell loose, barely touching her shoulders in length. A small flower barrette was pinned nicely on the side. Wearing beige from head to toe, Molly liked to think herself an explorer off into the jungle!

_But that was silly of course._ Fugue wasn't a jungle, and Molly was just a farmer.

She let out a heavy sigh. She was quite good at playing 'Debbie downer.'

With her hand on the door knob, she snapped her fingers. "Ah! Knew I forgot something…" Spinning around, Molly hurried to the fridge and took out her cold thermos. It was full to spilling with raspberry juice. It would compliment her sandwich nicely, she thought.

Packing the juice away and finally satisfied, Molly left her small farm house behind.

The morning was crisp and bright. Birds lazily twittered in their trees, still too early for them to fly about. The sun was still blocked by the massive Garmon Mountain that overshadowed her little farmland. Her crops were in their shady rows. Cabbages, potatoes, turnips, strawberries, and lettuce heads ripened from the fertile ground Molly was rather proud of. It took her forever to work her way to this point. She had never had a green thumb, but when Castanet needed a farmer, she rose to the occasion. After all, _someone_ had to do it…

The dirt path wound around the bend underneath her steady footsteps. Molly stuck her hands in her pockets, slightly chilled at the light breeze. The sound of the ocean to her right caught her attention and she watched the waves move back and forth for a few minutes. Steady on, the farmer girl met with the giant stone bridge that led to Flute Fields. She crossed it with the creak of the massive water wheel to keep her company. Finally, Fugue was before her.

Fugue Forest was an enigma. People like Molly didn't venture into it often, if at all. It was reserved for the skilled what with its winding paths and confusing turns. It was easy to get lost in the dense foliage and so Molly had avoided it as much as she could. She wasn't exactly afraid of Fugue… but at the same time she was. The dark trees were rather ominous and the sounds of its wildlife were intimidating. She was glad when it came time to find the Green Bell rumored to have been lost to the forest, the quiet Wizard in town was the one to simply hand it to her without explanation.

She took a deep breath and stepped through the first thinly layered trees. A tall green gate rested directly ahead of her. It had seen years of use, so it looked battered and was weather beaten. She tested the wood and found the padlock was rusted out long ago. Swinging it back on its hinges, Molly took a brave step forward.

* * *

"What was I so scared of? This isn't so bad…" Molly mused aloud to herself, following the dirt path deeper into the woods. She was in high-spirits, but she wouldn't be for long. Despite her deft ability to navigate the tangled maze, Molly hadn't seen a single sign of a blue bird all morning. And it was fast approaching noon.

But where does one look for a blue bird? Gill could've been right. A blue bird hadn't been seen in years. Most couples their age were proposing with blue stones instead to make up for the loss. But Molly didn't want to lose hope. Ever since she was a little girl, she was told of the blue feather tradition. Her own parents were married with a blue feather proposal. It was so romantic and timeless. Why did everyone else have to give up?

The clouds rumbled by above her. Molly looked up through the canopy of leaves and let out an irritated huff, blowing the bangs from her eyes. "I didn't check the weather… Oh, well. If I get wet, I deserve it. Hello. That's new."

Molly stopped in her tracks and looked at the stream before her. That wasn't right. By her calculations, she should have been back-tracking. But this stream was new to her. She hadn't crossed one so large before…

"Um…" Molly thought aloud, finding it easier to come up with a solution as she paced. "Map! Duh, where's my map…?"

A quick survey of her pockets told her that she had forgotten more than to check the weather. Too concerned with her raspberry juice, no doubt…

"Drat," she snapped her fingers. Map-less and lost, she tried not to panic. "Let me see… Well, if I thought I was going backwards, but I was really going forwards… if I turn around, I should be put right again. Right? Right! There, no big deal. Easily righted… Breathe, Molly, jeez."

Nearly an hour later, after stumbling through thick tree roots, dodging poison ivy, and pulling through briars, Molly was positive she was completely and utterly lost. The images in her head of seeing Gill dumbfounded over the blue feather she was supposed to find were quickly turning into eye rolls at her misadventure and disappointment in her stupidity. What if he laughed at her?!

Just when Molly was hoping less and liking her diamond ring more, the trill of a bird swooping low overhead caught her attention. Scanning the overcast skies, Molly couldn't see anything. She heard the bird's song up ahead, so she quickly followed her ears. Raindrops started to sprinkle her hair as she crashed through the forest after the unfamiliar tune.

Molly tumbled into a clearing and was instantly relieved at the break from the branches and thorns. She took a sharp intake of breath. Directly ahead of her on a low hanging pine branch was a brilliantly feathered blue bird. She smiled in delight. "I knew they were still around…"

Now to the issue of getting a feather.

She crept forward, taking quiet, easy steps. Molly cooed comforting words as she got closer, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "Here, birdie, birdie… I won't hurt you. Just hope you're ready to molt…"

The bird paid no attention to her and cocked its head this way and that as birds often do. Its beady eyes had no particular direction of focus as it hopped lower along the branch. It fluttered its wings a couple times, trying to take shelter from the rain.

"I don't want to hurt you," Molly continued to say. "Just one feather. Just one… feather…!"

The bird took off, deeming her too close for comfort. Molly cursed and watched as the blue bird flew up and over the trees and quickly out of sight.

* * *

Tramping through the rain, Molly had her hands over her cold arms as she continued to wind her way through Fugue Forest in the direction of the blue bird. She couldn't exactly give up now… She had come so far! Besides, she knew that the blue bird was here now and she couldn't very well leave the forest anyways. She was too deep to turn back empty-handed. Still, she had better find an escape route soon. Why was it so cold?

Molly shivered and sniffled a little. She couldn't really see well through the sheets of rain, but another clearing was fast appearing up ahead. Good. A place she can find a dry-ish tree and settle down with her lunch for a break.

Something was strange about the open area before she got to it. She could tell. _Was that… water? Did the rain start pooling already?_ Though she was soaked to the bone, Molly was sure that enough water to create what was before her hadn't fallen. As she drew closer, she suddenly stopped. _What was this place?_

Reeds grew tall and a lone, giant tree without a top wasted in the center. Was it a swamp? She had never heard tell of a swamp in Fugue before. Besides, this place didn't smell… swampy. Wooden bridges stood out from the water and made a path to an island-looking spot out past the water. _Was that… Was that a house? Out here? Who on Earth would be living in Fugue?!_

Molly didn't get the chance to find out on her own. A wide-eyed girl stood just behind the farmer, having found her first. Before Molly could turn around, she was smacked over the head and fell limply into the mud.


	4. Blackberry Scones

So instead of writing this chapter… I read four books. _Four._ And these were massive chapter books – nothing like _War & Peace_, mind, but they weren't any _Junie B. Jones_, neither. …When I procrastinate, I _procrastinate_. But here it finally is!

* * *

**Blackberry Scones**

* * *

Molly felt nauseas. The room was warm and there was a thick smell about it. Like multiple lit candles or someone sprayed too many perfumes. She blinked her eyes, realizing there was a crick in her neck from resting her head on her chest.

The young farmer held a hand up to steady her spinning head. _What happened? Where was she?_

The rather passive girl looked about the room, slowly blinking her eyes from the throbbing headache. The walls were a light beige color and half of the furniture was pink or purple. Her eyes scanned a book shelf, a bed with a deep violet duvet, and the white table where she was sat. She was sitting in a chair. A rather uncomfortable chair. Her hair and clothes were just starting to dry, but they still stuck distastefully to her pale skin.

More awake and alarmed, Molly heard footsteps in the next room where loud bubbling sounds came. She gaped in surprise as a woman stepped cheerily out to greet her.

"Why, hello! Finally up, eh?" The silver-haired girl smiled. She slinked about Molly and sat on the table, crossing her slim, stocking covered legs.

"Where… What…?" Molly asked, rising to her feet.

The woman wouldn't have any of that. She gently pushed Molly's collar bone and sent her back into her chair. At the close proximity, Molly saw her eyes were a bright copper color. She couldn't help but gasp in surprise. The girl paid no attention, gently leaning back on her palms. "So… where you from?"

"T-Town…" Molly answered, giving her a good look up and down. She was ridiculously dressed in striped short shorts that poofed out. She wore a black corset and some sort of small cloak that tied with a bow around her neck. The drooped, pointed hat strapped round her head was the weirdest though. This woman was dressed for Hallows Eve!

"Whatcha doin' in the forest?" The woman continued to interrogate her, now swinging her legs like a merry little girl.

"I… I… was following the blue bird." Molly mumbled, wondering why she was explaining herself to this peculiar stranger. But then again, she was rather used to being ordered around so it wasn't anything new.

"Ooo, going to propose? That's… sweet," She sniffed haughtily.

"I had better get going…" Molly tried to stand up again and was pushed back into her seat, slightly more roughly than last time. The copper eyes flashed dangerously and for the first time, Molly actually felt scared to be in the small cottage.

"Tsk, tsk," The woman tutted. A light ring went off in the next room and she leapt to her feet. "Ooo, they're done!"

Molly quickly surveyed the room. Her eyes locked on a wooden door, but it was quite a distance. She hated to be rude, but the house was intimidating and she felt woozy in the stuffy air. And the woman who kept the place was strange and creepy and Molly had never seen her before. It was time to flee.

But the woman skipped back into the room as quickly as she had left. This time, she carried a hot metal pan in her oven mitt clad hands. She set the tray down on the table. "Mm! Blackberry scones? Made fresh, see?"

Molly smiled, feigning friendliness. "I'm quite alright, thanks."

"Oh, come on!" The other pouted, throwing her hands on her hips. "I put the kettle on and everything! Won't you have just one?"

"I really should be going," Molly repeated, standing up firmly this time.

The other woman glared, but she put the plastic smile back into place just as fast. "You're not going to stay? Just for tea?"

"I really have to get home. My fiancé will be worried about me," Molly insisted, walking briskly to the door.

The other woman sprung up and threw a light from across the room. As Molly's hand touched the door knob, it made a loud click and jarred. Molly twisted and jiggled it, but the door refused to open after being hit with the light. Spinning around on her heel, her eyes wide with fright, Molly accused: "You're a… a witch!"

"Surprised the hat didn't tip you off. Idiot," The Witch said, eying her nails in boredom.

The insult jabbed at her and Molly became more indignant. "Now… Now you open this door! Immediately!"

The silver-haired vixen smirked. "Or what? You going to brandish the pitchfork in your pocket at me? I don't think so."

Molly instinctively moved to her rucksack at her waist and jumped when she saw it was missing. So no axe or hammer for her. The farmer glared, her temper rising with each plea. "Open this door this very instant! I want to go home!"

The Witch attempted one last time to play nice, her guard rising, too. "I'll let you go home after you sit and have tea with me. Don't you want to be friends?"

Molly, not the wisest girl on Castanet, shouted: "I don't want any of your stupid scones or smelly tea, and I don't want to be you friend! I want to get the hell out of this ugly house and go home! Let. Me. GO!"

She ended by stamping her foot, and The Witch didn't take kindly to it. Stomping straight over to meet her, eyes flaming, Molly cringed slightly as the other woman snatched the hot metal tray, spilling the scones across the table and floor. She raised it threateningly over her head as she approached her. "You ungrateful, little mortal!"

Molly closed her eyes as the pan made contact, her world and mind spinning as she slumped to the ground. The last thing she remembered was The Witch grabbing her by the ankles and dragging her across the floor.

* * *

Molly never really considered herself aggressive. Sure, when she was a little girl, she would rough house with the island boys and scare the other little girls with bugs (how she met Luna, actually), but as she grew older, she became more and more like the object of her affections: Gill, the mayor's son. She became quieter, more passive. Less likely to argue and more likely to smile and shrug it off. Her friends were right: Molly had lost her fire. Or at least most of it. Because this time when she woke up, she was a fighter.

Molly tensed: her muscles stiff against the restraints. The rope tied about her middle kept her hands behind the same chair she woke up in before. Her hair was disheveled and her brain was pounding with the new lump on the back of her head. She blinked her eyes a few times, testing her vision.

"—something fierce," The Witch was muttering away somewhere behind her. Back in that kitchen room with the bubbling sound. "Because this is all your fault, you know. I've never prided myself on my temper, but you really like to bring the worst out of me, don't you? Just like that – oh, you're awake?"

Shuffling turned into footsteps and the smiling face of The Witch was before her. Molly glared bitterly at her, pushing against the rope that was keeping her in the chair. In a deadly voice, she muttered: "Let me go."

The Witch rolled her eyes. "Look, I'm not planning on keeping you like this forever. Maybe you'll learn to like it here. After some training, I'll take the rope off. But you need to learn some manners first and respect your hostess."

Molly kicked her legs out, nearly reaching the woman's shins. The Witch jumped out of the way without any trouble and made her way back into the kitchen.

Ready to play the game, Molly called: "If you untie me, I might consider being your friend. Friends don't tie up friends!"

"Pfft!"

"Or kidnap them for that matter!"

"Take a breather," The Witch said. "When you're in my position, you don't waste what you've been given. Hell, I haven't had a trespasser… ever, I don't think. I haven't even had company in eighty years…"

_How old was she?!_ She knew that witches were mystics, but she didn't realize that affected their age. Then again, that would explain the 'mortal' comment… Molly shuddered at the idea of being locked in this room for eighty years. She needed to get out. Desperately, she called: "Please! My wedding is just a week away! I haven't even picked out my dress yet! You're a girl – you understand, right?"

The Witch re-entered the room with a fresh tray of steaming blackberry scones. The hot berry smell filled the room, which Molly actually enjoyed compared to the over-whelming scent of incense. "You're worried most about your dress? You really are an idiot."

Molly hung her head, the panic fading and despair replacing it.

The Witch took no notice. She placed two cups before them on the table and filled them to the brim with dark tea. She held a scone under of Molly's nose. "Here, have one! You know, since you can't exactly hold it yourself… This is what friends are for!"

Molly did her best not to scream or spit at her. She had lost this fight. Silently, she took a bite. She chewed it slowly and swallowed. It was good despite the bitter taste of captivity.

The Witch smiled and gave her a pat on the head. "Good, friend!"

Molly wondered if this witch knew the difference between 'friend' and 'pet.'

The two continued to eat the scones and tea, The Witch feeding Molly her share. A few quiet moments passed before Molly tried her hand at being sly. She had never had trouble making friends. So why should that stop now? "So… what's your name?"

The Witch looked glad to see that Molly was finally coming around to the idea of friendship, but at the same time, she looked grieved. She set down her scone, looking down at her hands in her lap. "I… can't tell you that."

"Why not?" Molly asked. "My name's Molly."

"Well, 'Molly,'" The Witch gave a small smile, "My name is a secret. I only give it to people I can trust."

Molly wrinkled her nose, but forced a smile. "Well… friends are people you trust. If you really want to be friends, you need to share your name. I can't be your friend if you're nameless."

The Witch was having a serious internal battle as Molly watched, trying to pressure her with her ceaseless stare. When she decided it wasn't working, she continued: "I can just call you 'The Witch,' but that hardly seems friendly. It's not like it's—"

"Vivi," The Witch said, eyes pinched shut tight.

"What?" Molly asked, leaning forward as much as she could in her bonds.

"I said, Vivi. My name is Vivi," The Witch repeated.

"Oh. Well… nice to meet you, Vivi," Molly admitted. She was actually rather shocked she told her. This witch must've been more desperate for friendship than she already realized. Molly somehow started feeling sorry for her.

"Nice to meet you, too, Molly," Vivi nodded. "But don't think I'm going soft – I won't take any of your mortal nonsense!"

"Mortal nonsense?" She asked, baffled.

"None of that 'marriage' or 'wedding' stuff. Ridiculous human things," Vivi rolled her eyes and took another sip of tea.

"You mean… You're not going to let me go?" Molly asked.

The Witch laughed; a tinkling, mocking sound. "Of course not!"

"I'm going to miss my own wedding?!"

Vivi stood, taking the dirty plates with her in a huff. "Goodness, you're so selfish! We haven't even finished tea and you're already talking about leaving again! Ugh!" She soon returned, grabbing a wooden staff from beside the bed and quickly looking in the mirror to straighten her hat. "Well, I'm off. You be good, mmkay, Molly? Toodles!"

"Bu-but, Vivi, wait!" Molly called, not able to follow after her as Vivi opened the front door and stepped out into the fresh air. The door shut behind her. "I'm not finished talking to you! Maybe we can work something out? Please?! Vivi! VIVI!"

Ignored, Molly stared up at the ceiling and groaned. Gill was never going to believe this…


	5. Escape From the Witch's House

Yay! I've been dragging myself towards this chapter. Finally here. Now let's have a story!

As always: thank you for reading. :)

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**Escape From the Witch's House**

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Exhausted from her trek in the woods and being smacked over the head twice, Molly fell asleep and woke up sometime in the early morning. The house was deathly quiet.

Shifting groggily in her chair, Molly let out a yawn and blinked her doe eyes around the room. It was late enough for sunlight to start peeking in through the windows, but it was early enough so that the shadows hadn't been cast away in most of the house. A soft orange glow radiated through the window, shining over her face. She squinted a bit and craned her neck.

Where was Vivi?

Scooting a bit, Molly felt the rope about her middle to be loose. Looking down, she saw that sometime during the night, the rope around her rib cage had slipped down about her middle. Her eyes alight like a cat's, Molly rotated her hips back and forth, working the rope wider. It wasn't long until she could squeeze her left arm up and out.

It was quick work before Molly left the rope and chair behind her. Her back cracked, protesting as she stood straight and stretched. She was ready to run after sitting in that chair for so long. Nervously, she double checked the house for a sound. A few scones from yesterday were left on the table, now hard from sitting out all night. She couldn't tell if the bed had been slept in, but it was made and smoothed down. A candle met the end of its wick and sputtered out on the dresser, a long smoke trail reached for the ceiling in a spindly path.

Molly didn't hesitate further. She needed to leave before Vivi came back and tied her up again – the next time tighter. This could be her only chance.

She sprinted across the room and grabbed the door knob. Either the spell wore off or Vivi took it off when she left because Molly had no trouble twisting it and drawing the heavy door towards her. She stumbled at the fresh air and greedily filled her lungs before she leapt off the door frame and onto the stone path.

The sun hadn't reached this side of the house, so Molly tiptoed through the shadows. She scuffed her boots on the thick rocks, and she sunk in the mud. Her boot met the wood bridge with a loud creak. Not bothering to look about this time, Molly followed the path as best she could in the dawn as she made a run for it.

A small, wet island led to the other half of the bridge. Birds were singing in the new morning in the dark cluster of trees ahead of her. _So close!_

That's when Molly heard her. "Hey! W-wait!"

Molly ignored Vivi's shouting as she ran across the last wooden plank. Soon she would be in the forest, but she could easily avoid Vivi in such a twisted and tangled place. She would find her way out, race home, and forget all this blue feather nonsense for good. She had wedding plans to finalize and Gill to see and heavens – should she even mention this escapade? Molly had a feeling she would let it slip to Luna and Selena and so Gill would hear about it eventually… But that should have been the last thing on her mind at a time like this!

Molly jumped from the bridge, hearing Vivi close behind her. "Molly! Stop! I-I'm warning you! Molly! STOP!"

The farmer took two steps towards the forest and was smacked right in the back with a white ball of light. Molly froze at the impact, rooted to the spot. Before you could say 'frazzled,' our strange heroine shrunk to a third of her size as her legs became stumpy and thin. Her neck grew alarmingly long and her nose pointed and joined her mouth. Her arms stretched and grew long, wide feathers that met her slender white body.

In the blink of an eye and a whirlwind of sparkles, Molly was a swan.

* * *

"Oh, no…" Vivi shook her head, both hands over her mouth. She had dropped the rope Molly had escaped from in her act, but she slowly stooped and picked it up again. Vivi was standing across the water, after having watched the magic leave her hands and hit the girl by the tree line. She shook her head again, panicking at what she had done. "Oh, no! Oh, no, oh, no! Ohnononono!"

Dazed, the swan who was a girl only moments before stumbled and flapped her wings pathetically. She curved her head around, her wings now hanging unnaturally by her sides on the ground. Her legs shook as she tried to hold up her own weight.

Vivi stopped running and stepped lightly off the bridge. She inched around the creature in a mixture of shock and awe that the spell she cast did _this._

"Molly…? Hey, Molly?" The Witch asked, not knowing if she could understand her. The swan looked sick and confused. She swayed slightly, and her eyes didn't focus on anything for more than a few seconds.

Vivi took advantage of the swan's stunned state and threw the rope about her long neck, tying it tight. Suddenly come to her senses, Molly screeched, letting out a loud honking noise. The brassy sounds coming from her throat set her off again and she stumbled backwards in newfound surprise.

The Witch tugged at the rope, leading her back across the bridge. Molly looked back at the forest before being pulled away. She tried to fight, but there wasn't much Molly could do as Vivi guiltily led her back towards the cottage.


	6. Bubble, Bubble, Toil and Trouble

Thanks for reading!

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**Bubble, Bubble, Toil and Trouble**

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"Will you cut that out!?" Vivi snapped impatiently.

Molly glared up at her from the water. She kicked her legs in the reeds beneath her, pecking at the rope that wound about her neck and tied her to the bridge. Algae stuck to her pure white feathers.

The Witch was sitting in the grass outside her house, the sun high overhead. Books of all sorts were sprawled out before and around her in a jumble. Some were opened to specific chapters and some were still untouched. Vivi was scanning and reading furiously in the quiet. Quiet but for the pecking sound Molly made at random intervals as she tried to desperately free herself that is.

Crickets and cicadas called from the branches and thick grasses around the Witch's House, singing of the fast approaching summer. A few clouds rolled across the sky in the pleasant breeze. It was a beautiful day. You know, if you weren't ambushed and transformed into a swan.

Molly grumbled quietly to herself and continued to tug at the rope. Some instinct in her mind made her want to nibble at the greens beneath the water, but the human in her refused and so she remained obstinately hungry as the hours passed. She blinked her beady eyes, watching The Witch intently. A small brown weasel was peaking out at her from around the Witch's House.

Vivi sipped her tea and tirelessly read. Why did this always have to happen to her? She was such a screw-up. She was always casting spells without thinking them through or even knowing full well what they were. Both were the case this time, and so she poured over the encyclopedias of spells. Vivi wasn't a fan of reading. It was tedious and boring. Her impatience with reading showed in her ignorance of her own magic. If she studied more, perhaps these kinds of things would not happen to her.

The sun sunk lower and lower in the sky as the pair sat outside. They couldn't communicate and Molly would rather avoid making that scary honking sound again in the attempt. This whole mess was hardly believable to her, but that rumbling sound coming from her throat and the wings she had sprouted told her she had better wake up and realize this was very real indeed. Now it was just a matter of getting out of it.

With a sick feeling in her stomach, Vivi picked up a book she was reluctant to go through. But as her regular spell books weren't holding any answers, she was forced to delve into the world of curses. If the enchantment she cast was as powerful as a curse, she wasn't quite sure how she was going to fix it, and she had little hope of doing so.

As the witch of the forest flipped through the pages of curses and the swan swam idly by her captor, the sun disappeared on the horizon. Vivi held out a candle in its holder over the old pages with wide eyes. "I… I think I found it!"

Molly looked up hopefully, dozing with boredom. Vivi continued to read silently, making sure the curse was the same. The night grew steadily darker in these minutes and the moon began to shine out from the clouds.

"Yes, I think this is the one…" Vivi nodded with decision, sitting cross-legged with the heavy book in her lap. She looked over at Molly who was still floating on the surface of the water. "Oh, dear…"

Just then, Molly lifted her wings as light engulfed her person. She stretched upwards towards the sky and water lifted with her as she grew. When the light faded and the water settled once again, Molly was a human being with a rope tied about her neck. She stared down at her hands and gave herself a once over before marching towards Vivi.

"What did you do to me?!" She forgot the rope and it gave her a nasty jolt as it pulled her backwards onto her bum. She splashed down into the water, sputtering with anger.

Vivi smiled sheepishly. "Uh… I cursed you?"

Shaking the algae from her hands, Molly cried: "You what?!"

"Hey, it's not all my fault!" Vivi said with her hands on her hips. "You shouldn't have run away!"

Molly gave her a hard glare and The Witch cringed, knowing it was completely her fault but she would never admit it. She cleared her throat and lifted the book. "Well, anyways, it's a curse and I don't know how to fix it."

"You mean… This isn't over?!" Molly gaped, thinking that the spell simply wore off like the lock on the door from the previous day.

Vivi let out a bitter laugh. "Nope! It's a curse, stupid. See, it says here that I hexed you with a curse called 'The Lily of the Lake.' There isn't much else said except that you're now an animal – you're rather lucky considering the options were swan, goose, or duck."

"Lucky?!"

"Okay, okay, don't get your panties in a bunch," Vivi waved with her hand, tucking a silver lock of pin straight hair behind her ear.

Molly fumed, trying to untie the thick, frayed rope with no success.

The Witch looked up and chastised her. "You're still bent on getting away? And what do you think you're going to do? If you leave, you'll just be a swan forever."

Molly stopped. "Wh-what? What do you mean? What's it say?"

Vivi sniffed and quoted: "'The Lily of the Lake' is a powerful and difficult curse to cast. The caster must be near a body of water when the curse is released upon the subject. The subject will transform into a swan, a goose, or a duck in various species. There is no way to determine which water fowl the subject will transform. By the light of day, the subject will be cursed to dwell in the specified bird form. Only under the light of the moon, the subject must be in the water where the curse was cast in order to regain their original form.'"

"S-so…" Molly stuttered, not bothering to sit up from the water that was soaking her clothes. "I'm s-stuck here? F-forever?"

"Looks like!" Vivi agreed, trying to hide her smile. "You'll be a swan during the day – no matter where you are. If you want to be human, you have to be in this pond when the moon comes out. Unless there's some cure—"

"Find it!" Molly interrupted in hysterics. "Get me the hell out of this! My wedding is _next week!_ I can't show up as a _goose!_"

"Actually… you're a swan. A Trumpeter Swan, I'd say by that terrible honking you were doing."

Molly glowered. "Whatever! FIX IT."

"I can't! I don't know how!" Vivi complained.

"What?!"

"That's all this book says about 'The Lily of the Lake,'" she explained. "Besides… why should I tell you if there was an antidote of some sort? I'd lose my only companion and friend."

"How many times do I have to tell you?" Molly seethed. "I am _not_ your friend! Friends don't kidnap friends. Friends don't tie up friends. Friends don't keep friends from their weddings. Friends don't turn friends into swans!"

The Witch glared. "Real nice, Molly. Way to Bridezilla me. Just let me do some more research! I have some sort of curse reversal book."

"You do?" Molly softened.

Vivi shrugged and looked around her. "Yeah. Somewhere…"

Molly sighed, sitting on the edge of the bridge with her wet boots dangling in the water. "…I'm sorry."

"Me, too," The Witch admitted under her breath. It was obvious that wasn't a common thing for her – to apologize. "Sort of," She quickly frowned again, re-instating her cold aura and snatched a few more books to read.

Molly kicked the water casually, waiting for something to turn up. Well… at least she transformed back with her clothes? She rather liked her safari outfit, and she'd be sad to see it go. She'd be sadder still if she was naked in this cold air in front of some crazy witch.

She felt her hair and touched cold metal. Surprised she forgot about it, Molly pulled the flower barrette out and held it in the palm of her hands. The five white petals surrounded the yellow center. It looked like a cross between a pansy and a daisy. No real name. Just a fake flower. Molly stroked it, remembering who gave it to her with nostalgia. Quickly, she pinned it back into her hair and watched the crescent moon.

"Ugh!" Vivi groaned, stretching out her arms.

"What's the matter?" Molly asked, cocking her head to the side. "Did you find something?"

"No… This is taking forever!" She complained.

"Oh…"

Pushed only by guilt and her need to prove herself a decent sorceress, she continued to read. The Witch let out a huff, blowing the bangs from her face. She reached over and picked up a plate. "Since this looks like it's going to take awhile… scone?"


	7. Hissing Won't Make Friends

I totally stole Speed the turtle from the Turner Family Showcase movie _The Swan Princess_. I just love him so much and I couldn't picture this story the same without him. So I don't own strong references concerning him. Wanted to put that disclaimer out there.

Again, thanks for reading!

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**Hissing Won't Make Friends**

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Molly peeled herself from the ground. Lifting her head, she felt the strange weight change and gasped. Standing on her stubby legs, she examined herself and her outstretched wings. So she was a swan again…

The morning sun was stale, reaching afternoon already. Sometime during the night she must've fallen asleep though she did not remember it. A blanket fell from her tail feather and she turned around to study it. _Where did this come from?_

"Hey, you're finally up!" The Witch came skipping out her front door. She carried a loaf of bread with her, but Molly still glared at her with indignation. "Sorry I didn't let you in, but I didn't want you waking up and scatting all over the floor."

Molly opened her mouth, thoroughly insulted. Before she knew it, a hiss escaped her black beak.

Vivi held up her hands in defense for a surprised second before she placed her hands on her hips and glared. "Now I'll have none of that! Won't make any friends that way. Look, I brought some bread for you. Looks good, hm?"

As the pieces were flung around her, Molly ignored them and kept staring at The Witch. Truthfully, she was starving and the bread looked delicious to her mind, but she let her stomach grumble.

When she threw the last piece into the water, Vivi looked displeased. "Well, fine. Eat when you want to then. I came bearing breakfast and good news and all you do is look at me like that! Humph."

Molly's face brightened considerably as she waddled across the bridge, staring down at the bread now.

Vivi crossed her arms. "See, I found some of my old books. I've got a crap load of reading now, thanks to you, so… entertain yourself, I suppose."

And with that, The Witch re-entered her home and left Molly alone.

Molly slipped into the water and swished her tail. It felt nice, she had to admit. And even though her long neck was something to get used to, her wings were pretty cool. Maybe it wasn't so bad… If that witch could find the cure soon. She had the books she needed. It was just a matter of time now.

Trying to think of the things that birds did, preening quickly came to mind. Molly could do with a bath anyways. She splashed around in the water and ruffled her feathers. It was so strange! She could feel every feather like it was skin, being tugged in different directions by the water. No wonder plucking a bird could kill them. She could imagine it would be incredibly painful. But then how would molting feel…?

"If you're trying to preen your feathers, you're doing it wrong," a high-pitched voice came from the bank.

Molly turned in surprise to see the little brown weasel pacing back and forth with extra energy. She blinked, not quite believing her ears.

The weasel opened its mouth and spoke again. "You go with the feathers. Use your beak, use your beak!"

Molly did as she was told, and the action felt nice. The weasel was right somehow. She tried her own voice when she was finished. "Th-thanks."

What was sounding like plain English to her was a bunch of squeaking and squawking to human ears. The weasel skittered over closer to the shoreline and Molly followed suit, kicking her legs and stopping at the edge of the grass.

"My, my name's Archie!" The weasel introduced, simply bouncing with hyperactivity. "Who're you, huh?"

"My name's Molly," She said, still a little unnerved she was talking to a weasel. "Why… why can I understand you?"

Archie pawed his face, relieving an itch near his eye. "What do you mean, huh?"

"It only makes sense. I'd be confused, too," a low, slow voice said. Molly quickly turned her head to see a large turtle making its way along the bank towards Archie.

"Oh, hey, Speed, hey!" Archie greeted with a jitter. She could swear his eye twitched – this guy was rather unstable. Like he was constantly on a sugar high.

The new guy Speed seemed to read her mind. He blinked his wrinkly turtle eyes and smiled – but for some reason it didn't creep Molly out like she thought it would. "I wouldn't worry about Archie; he's just the happiest weasel you'll ever see. My name is Speed."

"Hi, Speed," Molly smiled, wondering if her own smile was scary at all. "I'm Molly. Sorry, I'm pretty new to all this… animal stuff."

Speed rested his large green shell home and tucked his legs in somewhat. "You must have an interesting story, Molly."

"Yeah, yeah! What's it like to be human, huh? Do you feel taller?" Archie asked in a jumble.

"You guys know I'm human?"

"It would be hard to miss the light show," Speed reminded with a chuckle.

"Well, I won't be like this for long," She stated confidently. "The Witch is researching right this very minute how to change me back to normal."

"The Witch?" Archie asked. "You, you think she can make you human?"

"Why do you sound… doubtful?" Molly asked weakly, a sick feeling rising in her stomach.

"The Witch of Fugue Forest isn't exactly known for her… success," Speed explained lightly.

She frowned, quickly downcast. "But she has to…"

A loud, clanking sound suddenly caught the three of them off guard. Molly jumped with fright, but the other two were quick to calm down when they realized who it was. Speed shook his head. "There he goes again…"

"Who?" Molly asked, looking around.

Archie leapt up the hill, shouting all the way. "Hey, hey, Romeo! Come meet Molly!"

The weasel disappeared inside the hollow tree that leant against the Witch's House. A barrel rolled out after him, spilling its contents in the grass. Archie reappeared, jumping up and down as Molly would find to be the usual with him in time. Slinking out of the tree was a raccoon looking creature. He looked dissatisfied with the goods and followed Archie down to the lake.

Upon closer inspection, Romeo was not a raccoon. He was something _like_ a raccoon, but Molly couldn't quite put a name to what he was. The brown masked creature smiled with dagger-like teeth. Molly winced. "Why, hello. Archie tells me we've got company."

"This is Molly. Molly, Romeo," Speed introduced me.

"Pleasure," Romeo sniffed the air, like something valuable was close by.

"Likewise," Molly nodded though she didn't completely mean it. She could tell right away that Romeo was rather snobby. He reminded her of someone, but she didn't know who it was yet.

"Molly's a, a human!" Archie added.

"A human?" This sparked Romeo's interest. He sat down and folded his bushy tail around him. "What is a human doing as a swan?"

"It's a long story," Molly said. "It's The Witch's fault."

Romeo nodded with a smirk. "That's easy enough to believe." He noted the rope around her neck. "It appears you won't be going anywhere anytime soon."

"I know," Molly hung her head and paddled towards deeper water. This more or less gave them permission to disband. Romeo stood with a huff and stretched his legs.

"W-welcome!" Archie called.

"Seems like someone's antisocial," Romeo said.

Speed came to her defense. "Just leave her be. Give her some time."

Molly remained in the pond until dusk. She didn't bother with the soggy bread and fish came to eat it instead. The sun faded away and there was still no sign of Vivi. The moon rose into the sky. Molly waited in the cold water, feeling it was taking too long. But before she knew what was happening, she was growing taller and her feathers were fading. When the water splashed back into place, she was a human girl again.

She smoothed her beige skirt and waded towards the bridge, the water up to her knees. Molly pulled herself onto the wooden planks and tugged at the rope still around her neck. It was scratchy and wet and altogether unpleasant.

Archie appeared through the dark, surprising her at first. Molly smiled down at him as he crossed the bridge and stood next to her. "Hello, Archie. Nice night, huh?"

He still jittered and squirmed, but she could no longer understand his squeaking. The language thing was very strange to her. She gave him a pat which he seemed to enjoy. Molly scratched behind his little, rounded ears and he closed his eyes happily, relaxing a bit.

Molly didn't hear the door open until it slammed behind The Witch. She quickly looked up and Archie moved to her other side. Vivi was grumbling to herself, holding a massive volume in her arms. She stopped in the grass before the bridge, tapping her foot impatiently. When Vivi looked up, her orange eyes were slits.

"Did you find something?" Molly asked.

"Yeah."

Perking up considerably, Molly inched closer, but the rope wouldn't allow her to go much further. "Really? What is it? Is there a cure?"

"Yeah, but it's so… ugh!" Vivi grunted distastefully again. She crossed onto the bridge and dropped the book with a _thump!_ next to Molly for her to see herself.

"What? Is it gross?" Molly peered down at the pages, but the writing was too hard to read or in a different language.

"_I_ think so," The Witch turned her nose up, folding her arms under her chest.

"Well?" Molly squeaked, scared it would be painful.

"It says here that curses of these sorts can only be broken by a… kiss," She muttered, rolling her eyes. "You've gotta kiss the man you love and only him. Then it says so-and-so kisser has to confess their love to you, blah, blah, blah!"

"What?" Molly asked, already smiling. "Is that it? Ah, that's easy! I just need to find Gill, and he can fix this whole thing!"

That was a mistake. The Witch frowned, already in a bad mood. "Let me guess. Gill's the guy you were getting the feather for, am I right?"

Molly looked down at Archie for help, but he was looking back at her without understanding. She mumbled: "Maybe?"

"Oh," Vivi said huffily. "Well, if it's so easy for you, why don't you just leave and get it over with? Then you never have to see me again!"

"Vivi…" Molly sighed.

It was too late. Vivi was already storming back to her house. She kicked the door open, violently jerking the hinges. "I don't need anyone! Never have! Never will! Go find your freaking prince charming – see if _I_ care!"

_SLAM._

Molly felt a little guilty. But at the same time, she was more than relieved. She was still tired though from being awake most of the day. Molly gave Archie a reassuring pat on the head and curled up on the bridge, shivering slightly. "This time tomorrow I'll be free, Archie! About time, huh?"

Archie stared at her for a moment before hopping off the bridge and running quickly through the tall grass around the side of the house. Bright eyes watched her from the hollow tree and she guessed them to be Romeo's. Speed was nowhere to be found.

Well, it was cool to meet some forest animals and know firsthand what it was like to be one, but… Molly was ready for all of this to be over.


	8. The Misunderstanding

Ah, I'm the biggest jerk ever! I never said thank you for the reviews soapydishes and Hope; so thank you very much! I'm glad you're excited for the story. :)

Also, this is another turning point chapter. I can't believe I've written so much today… It's just been in my head, and I haven't wanted to do much else. So… yay?

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**The Misunderstanding**

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Molly was furiously nipping at her rope. She had tried loosening the knot, she had tried biting through it, and she was running out of options. The sun was sinking and if she wanted to get out of the forest and reach Gill before morning, she needed to leave as soon as she turned into a human. _Imagine the forest at night… and I got lost during the day!_

Shaking off the worry, Molly continued to snap and peck at the rope. She couldn't think like that. Perhaps if she just found a stream, she'd be able to follow it out to the river and find her way to the ocean. If she found the ocean, she'd find her freedom.

"Having trouble?" Speed asked.

Molly turned and saw him hobbling slowly along the shoreline, pushing aside the cattails as he sunk into the water with a splash. Speed got his name from the way he quickly pushed through the water, swimming much faster than Molly could any day. She didn't have to wait long until he was beside her in the water. She let out a frustrated sigh. "I need to get this stupid rope off! If I leave the second I turn human, I might have half a chance to find Gill before sunrise."

"Who's Gill?" Romeo's voice cut in. Archie was quick to come behind him, racing ahead and facing Molly from on top of the bridge.

"My fiancé," Molly mumbled. "He can break this curse, so I can get back to normal."

"Normal? I've never come across a 'normal' human," Romeo said, curling up in the grass.

"Well, how many humans could you possibly know?" Molly countered.

"Quite enough, thank you."

The water sparkled pink in the sunset sky around them. The colors quickly began to fade, winking out like snuffed candles in the evening air.

Molly grew impatient and put her attention back on the rope. Before she could try making any further progress though, Vivi opened the door carrying a tray of food. By the smell of cooked meat, Molly could tell that it was human food.

And in the blink of an eye, Molly's person glowed and the water came up like a curtain about her. The change was quick and painless. Molly shook her head a bit to get used to the new footing and looked up, a human once again.

"Ooo, look, I'm just in time," Vivi remarked with a bitter tone. She was still miffed from the previous evening, but she was apparently still willing to feed Molly. She set the tray down on the bridge. "There."

"Thank you…" Molly said, not bothering to refuse the food. She was ravenous and so she immediately started on the piece of beef roast The Witch mysteriously acquired. Guess Renee wasn't kidding when she could swear that some of the animals went missing. And everyone had said she was paranoid… Huh.

Vivi didn't hang around long, but Molly soon discovered why. She wasn't planning on releasing her. She was just waiting for Molly to give up hope, so she would hang around.

Molly still felt a little bad about leaving, but she wasn't about to get cold feet now. The Witch had started all of these problems after all. Lonely or not, her actions were completely unjustified! Molly had to get home.

A strange gnawing sound reached her ears. Finishing her roll, she turned and saw Archie chewing through the rope with his sharp teeth. It was quick work. The rope split in two and Molly was freed as Archie spit rope fibers from his mouth.

Molly gave him an enthusiastic scratch. She nuzzled him and whispered: "Thank you!" before jumping up. She gave the three animals a wave and dashed off across the bridge and into the dark forest.

* * *

The blue-haired carpenter had never been much of a night owl. Normally, he would wake up at the crack of dawn and share a quick breakfast with his father Dale and the apprentice Bo. Then he'd spend the morning helping his father around the shop and spend the afternoons in Fugue Forest. There he'd gather lumber until dusk. After such a long day, he'd crash soon after dark and then repeat the process.

But here Luke was. But he wasn't roaming the forest for just any reason. No, he had a very special goal in mind.

He strolled down the familiar forest path, whistling as he went. It had been a pretty awesome day! The weather was great and he got tons of lumber for the Carpenter's Shop. _Dad won't have trouble finding a place for all of it though. He's always using up the wood. …He's kind of like a beaver._

Determining this, Luke looked up at the starry sky and smiled. On the clearest nights like the one he was a part of, Luke liked to go out by himself for awhile. He'd walk the familiar forest paths, knowing what areas were safe to explore and which ones were better left alone. He'd find the tallest tree to cross his path, climb it, and watch the sky, hoping to spot a shooting star.

Luke soon found himself doing just that, chewing on a long piece of grass he had found on his way. He lounged against the trunk some thirty feet in the air, his feet comfortably resting along the same limb he was seated on. There were millions of stars blanketing the black sky, but there were no signs of any comets yet.

On this particular evening though, there was someone crashing through the woods below him. Luke sat up as he listened closer. Heavy footsteps were snapping twigs and by the sound of it, they were sprinting. _Who else would be out here this late?_

He expertly climbed down, swinging his legs and lowering himself as quickly as he could, not giving a thought to potential danger. He jumped from the last branch and landed on the ground with a thud. Just as a curious shadow passed by.

"AH!" The shadow screamed, twirling around in surprise. "Luke?"

Squinting in the dark, Luke immediately recognized the voice and brushed the bark off his hands. "Whoa, Molly? What are you doing out he—"

She ran up to him with tears in her big brown eyes. The farmer was looking around her like she was being chased. "Oh, I'm so glad to see you! I've been lost for hours!"

"Well, then you should've gotten clear of the forest before dark," Luke shrugged with a knowing smile. Molly wasn't the first to get lost in Fugue. He gave her a thumb up. "Good thing for you I know all the best paths!"

Apparently hearing something Luke hadn't, Molly gasped and peered behind him into the dark. Luke whirled around, but he didn't see anything. He figured she was just jumpy.

Molly grabbed his shoulders, making him flinch in surprise. It looked rather silly since he was a good head higher than she was. Molly looked very serious when she said: "Luke, you have to listen to me very carefully, okay? I swear to goodness, I'm not lying."

"Why would you lie to—?"

"Luke, there's a witch in this forest," She watched him carefully. Luke didn't have time to react before she was pouring out her story. "She's been keeping me here for days, and I only just got away."

"What?!" It was quite an accusation, but by the state of her rather grubby clothes, Luke was willing to lend an ear. Besides, Molly wasn't the type for tall tales. What could she gain? Unless she was trying to play a joke on him? But why?

"Listen, Luke," Molly snapped him back into attention, squeezing his shoulders tighter. "She's put some sort of curse on me. I… I turn into a swan."

"Uh…" You would think that no one could blame Luke for wondering about the state of Molly's mental health. No one would blame him for not believing her, for backing away, for thinking her mad. No one would blame him for trying to calm her down, get the real story out. She was probably exhausted. She ate some mushrooms. Whatever. But this was not the case. Luke wasn't just anybody. And shockingly enough (even to Molly), he was willing to believe her. "You turn into a swan? You're not a swan now."

Molly rolled her eyes, letting him go and taking a step back. "Well, obviously… It only happens during the day."

"Come on, let's get you out of here," Luke grabbed her wrist and started walking in the right direction.

"Thank you so much, Luke," Molly allowed herself to be pulled along, and she wiped the scared tears from her eyes.

"Hey, no sweat! Your story sounds pretty extreme! Is the witch after you?"

Molly shrugged, making sure to look behind again. "I don't know – she very well could be."

Suddenly, the farmer tensed and she wrenched her arm away. Luke looked hurt. "Molly? What's the matter?"

"I… I can't trust you!"

"Wha…? Why?"

Molly slowly backed away. "What are you doing in the forest at this time of night? You… you could be the witch in disguise!"

"Molly…"

"You could be leading me back to that house!" She accused, stumbling, catching herself, and continuing to move backwards.

"Molly, I'm not a witch!" Luke insisted. As if to prove it he spread out his arms and said, "I'm a boy!"

"It's just a disguise!" Molly declared. "You're trying to trick me!"

"How do I prove I'm just Luke?" He asked, more to himself than to her. His eyes lit up as he remembered his trusty tool. He pulled it from his belt victoriously. "Aha! See? I've got my axe!"

Molly shrieked and fell backwards at the sight of the potential weapon. She landed on her bottom in the middle of the dirt path.

"Aw, come on, Molly, you're just paranoid," Luke put his axe back on his belt. Snapping his fingers, he suddenly pointed at her head. "That! I gave you that!"

Molly's hand found the flower barrette.

"Yeah! I accidentally broke the one you had, so Dad made me buy you a new one!"

"When we were little…" Molly nodded. She suddenly glared. "Hey! I thought you got this because you felt bad! And here I thought you were being sweet – you were just following orders – ha!"

Luke tried to help her up, but Molly swatted him away and picked herself up off the path. "So I'm Luke, right?"

She brushed the dirt from her clothes, feeling satisfied. "Well, it looks like you're the real deal…"

"Sweet!" He fist-pumped. "I never thought that little thing would come in handy."

The two shared a slightly awkward silence before Luke punched her playfully in the arm. "So how do you get rid of this goose thing, anyways? You know a cure? Can I help?"

"It's a _swan_," Molly found herself correcting him. She didn't see the harm in telling him, so she said: "The Witch told me I just needed to be kissed. And then he has to—!"

Molly was suddenly cut off mid-sentence when Luke quickly pressed his lips against hers. It wasn't anything romantic – both of their eyes were wide open, his bright amber ones and her dark brown set. But the farmer was blushing a deep crimson, and her eyes looked more surprised than his. She quickly pushed him away. "LUKE! WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO?!"

Seeing her slump to the ground, the carpenter grew panicked. "I thought I was helping!"

"Helping!?"

"You just said you needed a kiss—"

"NOT FROM YOU!"

"Oh…"

Molly held her head, too shocked at what he just did. She was slowly realizing the severity of the action and weighing the consequences he didn't know anything about. "Oh, no… Oh, no! It's all wrong!"

Luke watched helplessly, not fully understanding his mistake. "Molly? I'm sorry!"

There was no point in finding Gill now. He couldn't do anything. Oh, good gracious, what was she going to _do?_ It's not like she could press restart on the curse… could she? No matter how much she hated it, she had to go back. She had to tell Vivi. Make her FIX all of this. Fix both her mistake and Luke's. Somehow…?

"There's no point now," Molly breathed. "I… I have to go back."

"Huh?" Luke asked.

She stood, pushing away from him. "You'd better go, Luke."

"But I want to help!"

"Just go!" Molly yelled, turning on her heel and running back the way she came.

"Molly! Molly, wait up!" Luke called, quick to follow.

Molly crashed through the foliage, briars and branches tugging at her clothes and skin. Luke's voice slowly faded, and she knew she would completely lose him soon. Apparently, she was a faster runner than he was.

A different voice caught Molly's ears as she drew deeper back into the woods of Fugue. "Mooolly!"

"I'm here! I'm here…" Molly panted, coming to a halt.

The Witch soon appeared, stomping through the underbrush with the severed rope in her hand. She held it up for her to see. She didn't say a word, which was surprisingly more frightening. Vivi just glared with furious, bright orange eyes that seemed to glow in the darkness.

"I… I need your help," Molly admitted.

She crossed her arms, putting her weight into one hip. "No kidding."

Hanging her head, Molly didn't protest as The Witch grabbed her wrist and quickly led her back through the trees towards her home.

It must've been nearing midnight… She had most of the night ahead of her – but what did it matter anymore? The Witch had made it painfully clear. _You've gotta kiss the man you love and only him._

"So… what happens when someone else kisses you first?"


	9. Trust That You're Doomed

I don't know why, but I'm really kind of flying through this. Weird.

Thank you CAPJHMPAgirl for the lovely review! It had me thinking and I've updated my poll with more options that are much more specific to the end of the story. If anyone's interested, it's fresh up on my profile as of the publication of this chapter. :)

Thanks for reading!

* * *

**Trust That You're Doomed**

* * *

Of course, Vivi was as confused about Molly's new problem as she was, and before Molly could further explain, the sun came up just enough to turn her into a swan. The Witch wound up carrying the girl the last few steps and plopped her by the lake. There was no way for them to communicate now that Molly was a swan again, so it would have to wait. Molly was exhausted anyways, so she decided to sleep until evening when she could be human again.

But that would not be the case. _Of course…_

Molly was roused grumpily from her sleep by someone poking her nose. She was rather buoyant in the water, so she trusted herself to sleep there. Whoever was tapping at her beak was making her sway and spin on the surface of the water like a pool toy. They reached again for her beak, missed, and dunked their hand in the water with a hiss.

She finally opened her eyes and met the noonday sun. Molly blinked away the brightness and found Romeo hanging off a low lying branch before her. She ruffled her feathers, stretching her wings out and flapping them before tucking them in. "Romeo? What do you want?"

The raccoon dog gave a devilish grin. "Haven't you slept enough? Even I can't sleep out in direct sunlight like this."

"Obviously I haven't slept enough – if I was well rested, I would've woken up on my own accord," She grumbled, turning away from him.

"Ooo, big words! Excuse me, princess," Romeo rolled his dark eyes, clinging to the branch so he wouldn't get wet. "Just look at you. You're not tired – you're just feeling sorry for yourself."

"And what if I am?" Molly snapped, closing her eyes to get back to sleep. "I'm completely justified…"

Romeo laughed. It was a strange snicker that was a series of rapidly disjointed clicks in the back of the throat. "Justified! Are you so sure?"

Molly opened her eyes. "What do you mean?"

Romeo looked up, distracted by something, and looked back down at her. "Well, look at the facts. Who's done this to you?"

"The Witch… duh."

"Alright, alright. Now, what do you know about this little curse you've got, eh?" He asked.

"I'm a swan in the day and I'm a human at night," She easily replied.

"If?"

"'If' what?"

"Any particular reason you keep coming back here before sunset?" Romeo prompted.

Molly didn't see where this was going. "I have to be in this pond if I want to be human."

His eyes glinted. "And who told you that?"

She paused. "…The Witch."

"Aha! So can you back this little fact up with anything?" Romeo challenged.

Molly was putting the pieces together quickly now. "No… Because I can't read the book. Do you really think…?"

"That she's told you this so you'd stay? Yes, I think I do. Why else would she have tied you with that rope?" He whispered – as if Vivi would hear him. "Because she didn't know if you'd believe her or not. That you would figure out her lie and leave. That's why."

She kicked her legs angrily beneath the water. Why had she never thought of this before? All she had was Vivi's word – which she already learned shouldn't be trusted. The Witch was desperate to keep someone around to talk to. Would she lie to keep her here? Molly didn't see why not. She looked up at Romeo who was struggling now to keep on the willow's vine-like limb. "Thank you. But any reason you're telling me this? Just out of the kindness of your heart?"

"Of course," Romeo nodded, but the sly look coming from the swan baited him on. He sniffed. "Besides, you're eating a good share of the hazelnuts, and I'd like those back."

Molly let out a laugh. It was a muffled, trumpet-y sound. Much like her creature's namesake. She turned from him, swimming towards shore. "Well, thank you very much. The hazelnuts will soon be yours."

"What are you planning on doing?" He called, slipping slightly and scurrying back up the branch in a frantic climb.

"I'm flying out of here!" Molly decided, stepping onto the bank and flicking the water from her tail. She climbed onto the grass and furiously flapped her wings. Surprised, she looked down and saw she hadn't left the ground. She just tired her 'arms' and lost a few flight feathers.

Archie soon appeared to replace the missing Romeo. He bounced before Molly, giving her a surprise. "Hey, Molly! Whatcha doin', huh?"

"Ah! Oh, Archie…" She gasped. "I'm trying to fly… It's harder than it looks."

"You've got to run!" Archie instructed. The weasel demonstrated by running from one end of the swamp and back. "See? See? Run, Molly!"

Romeo sauntered up, his feet wet. He didn't say anything about them, but Molly guessed he wound up falling in the lake after all. "You can't simply run… You'll need some air. Try to kick off the ground as you flap."

"Yeah, jump, jump!" Archie squeaked.

"Since when were you two such experts?" Molly mumbled, but she did as she was told. She went a few steps away from them and took off in a sprint. Beating her wings as hard as she could, she pinched her eyes shut and lifted her feet. The best she got was a couple inches before tumbling back down. Molly slid through the grass and mud while Archie and Romeo called out more instructions.

"No, no, you're not doing it right! Lift!"

"Run faster, faster!"

Speed was dozing in the sunshine, but opened his wrinkled eyes at the commotion. "What's all this?"

Molly sprinted across the yard again, flapping her wings and losing more feathers. She did much the same as she had before, but she gained a bit more altitude before crash landing again.

"We're teaching Molly to, to fly!" Archie said, hopping on his paws.

"She's terrible," Romeo commented.

It wasn't like Speed to shout, but he gave his advice anyways. "She's not angling her wings correctly. Doing more harm than good – see her feathers coming out? She's setting herself up like she's landing."

"Hey, Molly!" Romeo called.

"WHAT, Romeo?" She shouted back, obviously agitated.

He pretended to not notice. "Speed here says you're doing it wrong!"

"Well, what am I supposed to do?"

"Something about angling your wings and landing…?"

Archie quickly added: "Yeah, and your feathers are coming out!"

"What?!" Molly stopped running.

Romeo huffed. "Just come listen to the turtle!"

Molly waddled over, feeling sore already. Speed smiled and calmly repeated what he said before. "Try pointing your head down a bit, too. And use your tail feathers. They'll come in handy."

"You talk like you've flown before," Molly joked.

The turtle seemed to shrug. "I've lived here for over fifty years. I've seen enough of your kind taking off."

"Okay, I'll try it," Molly nodded. She got into position and tilted her wings. The swan part of her brain seemed to know where to put them now that she had been told. She lowered her head like a racer and started her run.

"Go, Molly, go!" Archie cheered as she sped by.

Molly flapped her wings only three times before she was off the ground. Madly tilting her wings, she remembered her tail feathers just in time to angle her body upwards. She beat her wings harder and felt herself rising. When she looked down, the Witch's House was far below her. She could just make out the three outlines of her animal friends.

She tried to signal a thanks, but it threw off her flight pattern and she plummeted a few meters. She had better be careful…

Molly focused on the objective of getting away from Fugue Forest. The sun glinted off her mud-stained white wings in the early afternoon light. The first rays of summer were in the air, making it slightly humid and strangely easier to fly. Finally looking down again, Molly saw the open hills and fields of the Brownie Ranch. The windmill churned lazily around in the soft breeze. Flute Fields spread out beyond where a handful of houses were nestled. She had never noticed their brightly colored roofs before.

For the first time, Molly felt what it was like to fly. She never thought she'd ever have the chance… it was bizarre, but it was thrilling. Her heart was pounding, the blood rushing through her body. She looked up at the clouds, down at the trees zipping by beneath her. She wasn't good enough for the maneuver, but Molly didn't think twice before twirling and catching herself. Without much left to express her exhilaration, she trumpeted the brassy song her swan throat could produce in place of a scream of delight.

The world had never looked more beautiful than from a weightless perspective.

* * *

Though the thrill didn't wear off, Molly soon grew tired. With the forest behind her, she was almost at a loss of where to go. What could she do as a swan? Nothing really… but to wait for night.

The first spot that came to mind was her home.

Molly rested in the cool sand by the water wheel for a bit. Landing was surprisingly easier than she thought. It was like nothing she had ever felt before, but flight really did a number on her stamina. She couldn't just fly around willy-nilly as she wished. It was hard work!

After her breather, Molly took off running and pulled herself from gravity on her second attempt. She crossed the river and flew up the hill, following the old dirt path even though the sky didn't have any such roads. It was just habit.

Above the fenced hill rested Molly's house. It was the house her father had built up from nothing. The house where her mother lived after she left the city. Where they started a family. Where Molly grew up. Where she came back to after days of school and nights in the village with the other children. Where both her parents eventually died. Where Molly took up permanent residence to restart the farm and save her homeland from itself.

It was a bittersweet house. The memories that hung there, both the good and the bad. The wear and tear of the home itself and of its surrounding out buildings. Like the coop and the barn – both of which had gone unused since the time of Molly's father. Molly loved animals, but she never had the skill to raise them on her own. As she landed in the dirt patch before her porch, she bitterly thought this was a good thing. She wouldn't have the ability to care for anything in the state she was in.

No, Molly's love was for plants. Of tall trees and fields of wheat. Sadly, as she turned around to face the music, she had never had a green thumb. In fact, she was more likely to kill a plant than nurse it back. But it was something she had grown used to practicing through her trials with the mysterious Bells of Castanet. The crops she spent all spring slaving over were long dead without her care. They had browned in the warm sun. The dirt was parched, begging to be watered again. All the ripe food was either sitting with holes on the ground or stolen away by animals.

Molly sighed, going through the rows of cabbages and lettuce and potatoes. There go her profits… But it would soon be over. She'd be able to plant something in summer, maybe. Why maybe? Well, she would be married by then… Could she keep up the life of a farmer with her new life as Gill's wife? Would she even want to?

Molly was never a fan of life-changing decisions. She put them off as much as possible until (what usually happened) someone else made the decision for her. She didn't know where it started, but it was at a very young age. Molly could distinctly remember her mother asking her what she wanted to eat for dinner when she was little. She would never answer, so her mother stopped asking. The process continued until she just wouldn't ask anymore. And it carried on to other things, she found. From classes in school, to the friends she made, to the clothes she wore and the things she did. Molly became passive.

_And I always will be…_

Molly's reminiscing took much longer than she thought. The sun was sinking over the ocean, shooting rays of red and pink across the sky. Poor Molly started to slip into sleep, folding her legs beneath her and tucking her head down into herself.

By the time she came to her senses, the world was dark. With a gasp, she got up and looked about her. Her height gave her a start.

_What? I'm still a swan?!_

Molly looked up and saw the moon, slowly waxing, now somewhere between a quarter and a crescent. _But it couldn't be…! Maybe it's the water. I have to be in water!_

Remembering the lake, she fluttered across her farm and tumbled through the reeds in her desperation. She landed ungracefully in the water with a loud splash. Molly peddled her feet, getting further into the lake. Nothing was happening.

_It couldn't be! It simply… Vivi wasn't lying._

Feeling very sad and very foolish for hoping, Molly hung her head. She left the lake behind, dripping as she found a thick bush and settled down behind it to shield herself from the road. The night was cool and there was a breeze that ruffled the leaves and her downy feathers. She shivered.

The cursed girl accepted the fact that she was completely and utterly doomed.


	10. The Clock is Ticking

Ooo, we're in double digit chapters! Yay!

Thanks for the reviews Hope, Winter Oak, and NotTheArtist! I watched the cartoon movie _The Swan Princess_ last night and couldn't think of anything but this story all day. Sorry it's been awhile since I updated. Thank you for the interest and support! :D

In other news, the poll is closed! Thank you everyone for voting! I finally have an ending chosen. So now maybe I can write this story a bit faster. It's still a surprise though! :)

* * *

**The Clock is Ticking**

* * *

Molly woke up stiff and smelling of algae. The sun was high in the sky, telling her she had slept in again. Molly never used to sleep in so much, but these past few days had been rather… taxing.

Stretching, the first thing the swan did was step back into the chilly waters of the lake. Molly spread her feathers, preening them with her beak. She allowed herself to splash about a bit, getting rid of the mud from her flight mishaps the previous day.

That's right… She would get to fly again! Well, that was one thing to look forward to.

Depressing thoughts of being a swan until the end of her days (how long did swans live anyways?) swirling around her head, Molly dashed across her farm and beat her wings. She was soon in the air, heading back to Fugue Forest.

* * *

Anissa loved mornings. The fields were quiet and endless. She was left to water her beloved rows of crops at her leisure, but her favorite days were harvesting days like today. At the end of the season, there would be a few days like today when all she did was collect what her care had brought. It was such a feeling of achievement that she rarely found anywhere else.

The brunette let out a happy sigh as she straightened her back. Balancing her basket laden with fresh potatoes on her hip, Anissa threw her long hair over her shoulder and looked up at the bright blue sky. It was a beautiful day. Not a cloud in the sky! Well, except for that one… But… what is that?

Setting her basket down and hefting up her skirts, Anissa jumped the rows of plants and stopped at the wooden fence. She squinted her eyes, trying to get a better look.

The pure white bird flapped its wings and angled its body away from her. Anissa noted the distinctive black feet and beak. The long neck and brilliant wings were enough alone to convince her though. "A swan? I wonder what a swan is doing here?"

The bird twisted towards Fugue and soon disappeared from sight.

Forgetting about her field for the moment, Anissa climbed the fence and swung her legs to the other side. Hiking up her dress again, the girl ran up the grass to her friend over the hill.

Renee was brushing one of the many cows in the great barn of Horn Ranch. The ranch was enormous and produced most all of Castanet's meat and dairy needs. But Renee was born and raised here and wasn't intimidated by the sheer size of the herd that her father brought up. She loved each and every one of the animals on the farm and tended to them daily.

She was wrapped up cooing comforts to the skittish cow, so she didn't hear or see Anissa entering the barn looking for her.

"Renee!" Anissa called over the loud mooing. "Renee, where are you?"

"Huh?" Renee looked up, her bob haircut bouncing around her ears. "Anissa?"

"Renee!"

"I'm over here!" She called, stepping away from the cow. It began to fidget from the shouting and stomped its foot to show its displeasure.

Anissa finally found her friend in the rows of cattle and panted a bit from her run when she reached her.

"Hey, Anissa, what's up?"

"I just saw a swan! Isn't that strange?" Anissa got right to the point.

Renee's eyebrow furrowed. "That is strange. Swans aren't native here. Are you sure?"

"Yes, yes, I wouldn't be telling you otherwise," Anissa chided, quick to make her report. "It had long black legs and a matching black beak."

"No yellow or orange markings on its face?" She questioned expertly.

"Not that I could see."

"Hm, sounds like a Trumpeter Swan to me, but I obviously can't be sure until I've seen it. Where was it?" Renee absentmindedly gave the anxious cow a pat.

Anissa shrugged slightly. "It went into Fugue Forest, so I don't know where it went exactly."

"Hm," Renee said again. The girl loved animals more than anything, so she was determined to help this one out. "Someone probably set it loose, or it got away from being dinner. I'll be on the look-out for it. Thanks, Anissa."

"No problem," Anissa smiled. "I thought you'd be interested. Well… harvesting season! See you later, Renee!"

"Bye, Anissa! Take care!" Renee waved. Anissa soon disappeared and Renee went back to tending the cow.

_A swan in these parts? Very strange indeed._

* * *

It was sunset when The Witch was kicking her legs in the murky water by her house. The tips of her black Mary Jane heels swirled the algae on the surface of the lake. She gripped the wooden bridge and stared up at the waning sun, wondering where our protagonist might be. Vivi would admit to herself (and only herself) that she had been selfish and unfair, but… could anyone really blame her? Well, she supposed they could. This situation was rather ridiculous. Vivi allowed herself to laugh. The Lily on the Lake curse? Who knew she had it in her?

A slow padding made her turn her head with a smile. "Ah, so you came waddling back, eh?"

Vivi knew it was mean, but she couldn't help herself. Molly's webbed feet made their way across the first bridge, to the island, and into the water.

"Find out a bit about yourself? Take a birdie vacation?" The Witch wouldn't have been surprised if Molly finally snapped and attacked her. She could just picture that large beak pecking at her eyes. "Guess I can't blame you – I'd want to be human again, too, after that long."

Molly seemed to ignore her as the sky darkened and finally reached a bluish black. As the moon was continuing to grow, the world at night continued to grow brighter. In a few minutes, Molly started to glow and her body seemed to stretch upwards before Vivi couldn't see her behind the water. It fell back into the lake, leaving the farmer once again standing there, knee deep in the water.

"I never noticed how short you are," Vivi commented. "Did you stop growing at twelve?"

Molly's lip quivered and she suddenly burst into tears. The Witch stared in shock as Molly slowly sunk to her knees and sat there, getting herself soaked to her stomach. She sobbed loudly without shame, making The Witch very uncomfortable.

Vivi stood, brushed the dirt from her shorts, and walked over to the muddy island between the bridges. She swayed on her feet guiltily with her hands behind her back. The heels of her shoes dug into the dirt. Molly's sobs grew quieter and quieter until they were repressed sniffles behind her hands. "I… didn't mean to make you cry like that."

Molly revealed her blotchy red face, wiping the rapid tears with the backs of her hands. "I-I-It wasn't y-your fault…"

"Ha!" Vivi let out a loud laugh, startling the girl. "Are you kidding me? Of course it's my fault! If it's something wrong in your life, I'm pretty sure I can lay claim to the source."

Molly tried to smile, but she only managed a quick, broken grin. "M-Maybe, then… Oh, I don't know what I'm going to do…!"

Vivi awkwardly waited for Molly to stop crying again. Surprising her, another creature in the water stopped before Molly. Molly wiped her eyes and saw Speed the turtle wading through to meet her. She placed a hand on his tough, round head in thanks for the comfort. With a quick look around her, Archie was on the bank, pacing back and forth and trying to see past the distance. A pair of shiny eyes in the hollow tree by the Witch's House told Molly Romeo was watching, too.

"At least get out of the water… It's kind of gross," Vivi finally said.

Molly nodded, getting to her feet unsteadily. The Witch held out a hand and Molly took it, hopping back up onto the shore. Speed managed to crawl his way onto the island, too, and Archie came speeding along the bridge to circle around Molly's feet.

The Witch shrieked. "Eek, what is that?!"

"It's just a weasel…" Molly said, sitting down in the dirt. Archie climbed into her lap and immediately sat down, finally satisfied. Speed sat by her side as well, tucking his legs in.

Vivi raised an eyebrow. "I see you've got your forest friends. What are you – a fairytale princess?"

Molly let out a laugh that time. "Of course not… Well, maybe. This seems like it should be a movie. I wish it was a movie…"

Vivi hesitated, but sat down next to her in the dirt. Speed sat between them and The Witch eyed him uneasily. That mouth looked like it could bite through a finger or two… She cleared her throat. "Um… I'm still working on this 'friend' thing… And friends help with problems, right? So… what's up?"

The farmer stared for a minute, making The Witch writhe with internal awkwardness and worry that the offer would be rejected. Molly blinked. Quickly, Vivi added: "Unless you don't want to talk. Whatever, then. Just wanted to know what was on your mind…"

Molly gave her a small smile. "I can't remember the last time someone asked me what I thought…"

Vivi blushed, feeling very stupid. She knew she was doing it wrong…

"Thank you."

The Witch looked back up and saw Molly smiling back at her. She gave her a more confident smile. "Alright then! So?"

Molly sighed, beginning the story that was cut off. "Remember when I asked you… I mean, what would happen if someone kissed me? Before I kissed the man I love?"

Vivi wrinkled her nose. "Had no idea this would be a mushy relationship talk. But… yeah. Sure, I remember. …Why? Were you whoring around?"

"What?! NO!" Molly quickly glared. She looked down at Archie, scratching his back. "It was an accident…"

"Aha!" Vivi said. "I was right!"

"It wasn't like that!" Molly grumbled, surprised she was defending Luke. She was still awfully mad at him, but she had to admit… he was trying to help… in the worst way ever. "He was just trying to help."

"Oh…" The Witch nodded sarcastically in agreement. "That makes it _all_ better."

"I know it doesn't!" Molly said. "That's the problem! Can I still kiss Gill and end the curse?"

Vivi shook her head. "No. It specifically says the man you kiss has to be the man you love. Because he's got to tell you he loves you in return."

"But I don't love Luke, so shouldn't the kiss mean nothing?" Molly asked hopefully.

This made The Witch recoil somewhat. "The carpenter?"

"Wait, you know him?!" Molly gasped.

"Of course!" Vivi sniffed as if she was insulted. "I've seen him in the forest a million times."

"Then why didn't you kidnap him instead?!" She sighed selfishly.

"Are you kidding me?! He carries an _axe!_"

"True…" Molly agreed, remembering the sight of the shiny tool when she made him try to prove who he was. She was such an idiot…

"Anyways, I don't think so. I mean it says _only_ him. I don't think the curse was kidding around with the 'only,'" Vivi shrugged.

Molly groaned. "Then what am I going to do? Make Luke fall in love with me?"

Even though Molly was kidding, The Witch nodded. "It seems like the only way to me."

"Wait, what? You're not serious?" Molly's eyes bugged.

"Well, yeah. If he tells you he loves you, I don't see why the conditions of the curse wouldn't be filled."

Molly shook her head. "There's no way though! I mean… I'm engaged to Gill! And Luke's… well… an idiot. I can't just force him to fall in love with me! …Can I?"

Vivi realized that Molly was asking for a spell. She immediately put her up hands in refusal. "No! No way! No more spell experiments! I've had enough of magic on humans for quite a long time, thanks."

Molly sighed grumpily, crossing her arms.

The Witch added: "Besides, what if something went wrong and he couldn't love you or he fell in love with someone else? It would only make things more difficult."

"I guess you're right…" She said in defeat.

"Whether you like it or not, Luke's your only hope now."

Molly suddenly turned to The Witch as if she just realized she was sitting there. "Any reason you're being so friendly? No offence, but… it's a little unexpected."

Vivi chuckled, the moonlight sparkling in her long silver hair. Despite what must've been years of aging, she was radiant and youthful. Vivi was really rather beautiful in a mysterious and enchanting way. "Like I said, I'm trying out this 'friend' thing… And honestly… I've been thinking of ways to break it to you…"

Molly noticed her sudden change in demeanor. The Witch fumbled her fingers, staring down at them intently. "What? Break what to me?"

"I've been doing lots of reading…" Vivi mumbled. Her next sentence was even quieter, so Molly had to lean to hear her. "And… I don't really know how to tell you, but… There's… kind of a time limit."

"A time limit?!" Molly shouted, unnerving Archie and Vivi, making them both jump in surprise. "When? How long do I have?"

The Witch bit her lip. "Well, he has to tell you before the first snow, or…"

"What? I'll be a swan forever?" Molly panicked. Her heart was racing, and she knew deep down it was something much worse.

"Actually… you'll die."


	11. A Friend

That left off ominously! I couldn't help but write another chapter. Don't want to leave you hanging too long.

Wait, two chapters in a day? Cool!

Hey, and more homance. xD

* * *

**A Friend**

* * *

"I want to die," Molly stated.

Vivi tapped her foot on the stone step outside her door. Her shoe clicked incessantly.

The farmer was splayed out in the grass, staring up at the stars. She was tired, but she couldn't fall asleep with this daunting, impossible task before her. It was ludicrous! It was cruel… It was pointless. There was no use in trying. Making Luke fall in love with her seemed impossible enough, but before winter? Implausible. There was no chance. Summer was already beginning. So she had what? Barely half a year to convince him she was the bee's knees. Ha!

"Molly, will you just come over here?" The Witch called.

Determining her life meaningless, Molly sat up and pulled herself to her feet. She followed Vivi into the house.

The door shut behind her. Molly visibly twitched, remembering being trapped in here when all of her problems began. Or did her problems begin with that ring? _Yeah, let's blame the ring. Stupid Gill, going against tradition for once…_

Molly felt guilty already for even thinking of blaming her fiancé. In truth, she missed him terribly. His calm and collected mind would be able to think of a way out of this easily. Besides, she was just engaged to him. They had wedding plans to dream up and a future to plan…

"Hello? Earth to Farmer Fran," Vivi snapped her fingers impatiently in Molly's face.

Molly wrinkled her nose. "Farmer Fran?"

"I don't know, but it worked! What planet are you on?" The Witch asked. "I was offering you my spell books."

"What?"

The Witch let out a sigh, looking away from her. She was keeping as much of her ego as she could. "Since this was, after all… Well, never mind. It doesn't matter now. It's in the past. We're here and now and right now you need a way out of this. So you're welcome to my spell books, my house, and whatever's left in the fridge."

Molly smiled and before either of them knew it, the brunette was hugging the witch. It was a tight, awkward hug that encased Vivi's arms so she couldn't move or escape. "Thank you! It really means a lot that you're willing to help me. Best news I've had all day!"

Vivi grumbled and shrugged out of Molly's hug. "Don't think I'm going soft! Now… let's have a look at something you can read."

The pair were soon digging through piles of books off of Vivi's great wooden bookshelf. Molly found a few books written in English, so she was going through them sitting cross-legged on the floor. She was munching on a blackberry scone and reading silently. Vivi was perched on the table, crossing her legs and also eating a blackberry scone. She held a book to her nose, muttering to herself and reading some of the sentences under her breath. Coffee cups were filled and refilled as the hours drew towards morning.

Molly had never been a fast reader, something Gill insisted she practice and often times helped her. Some of Molly's fondest memories were of her and Gill as children in the school house after hours, reading aloud from boring chemistry and biology books. They were dreadful, but Gill liked the bigger words for Molly to practice reading. And Molly liked reading as slowly as she could, keeping them there until dinner time when she would eat with him and his father before heading home.

She found herself smiling and chuckling to herself, not able to focus on the book in front of her. Vivi looked at her suspiciously. "What are you giggling about?"

"Just thinking… Gill and I used to read for hours after school together when we were little. This brings back some of those memories," Molly reminisced, blushing slightly.

Vivi cocked her head to the side. "What? Were you making out?"

"I said we were little!-!"

"Well, I just don't see how reading can be romantic or memorable at all," Vivi grumbled. "Ugh, I hate reading! It's so boring!"

"Maybe that's because all you ever read are these terribly dry books," Molly said. She held up another thick volume and tumbled through the pages. "I mean, look at this! It's like a dictionary – it must be ten pounds!"

"Because it _is_ a dictionary, stupid," Vivi rolled her eyes.

"Exactly! You need some fun books."

"No such thing."

"Yes there is!" Molly insisted. "You need some thrilling war novels, or epic fantasies, or dramatic romances—"

"I'll take the war and fantasy, thanks," The Witch said. "Romances – puh-_lease!_"

"Oh, they're not so bad…" Molly shook her head, knowing she wouldn't win. She looked back down at her book. The passage was along the lines of: —_under the rare circumstance that the spell caster's cursed water is drunk under the full moon before the ceremony is complete_— boring things that did not concern Molly or her problem. She sighed, distracted once again. "So… have you had any romance in your life, Vivi?"

"What? Me?" Vivi asked. Molly nodded. "Ew, no. Gross."

Molly laughed. "Figures. You're such a child."

"I am not a child!" The Witch fumed. Most would be frightened at insulting a powerful witch, but Molly knew there wasn't much more Vivi could do. Besides, she was slowly becoming less and less afraid of her with each passing hour she spent with her. Vivi seemed to sense Molly's calm and mimicked it, turning up her nose. "I just haven't the time for silly things like that. Besides… I haven't had much of a chance out here."

Molly frowned. "Why are you out here anyways?"

The Witch was quiet, pretending she didn't hear her. She turned another page in her book.

Molly pressured her to answer. "I mean, you said yourself you've been lonely all by yourself. Why don't you live in the village? I'm sure the residents would love you! The Wizard—"

"The Wizard!" Vivi shouted. She slammed her book closed, making Molly cringe slightly in fear that she did wrong. "The Wizard! _Ha!_ That cheap conjurer… a… a _fortune-teller!_ Of all the insults to the profession and practice of sorcery!"

"I'm sorry… I didn't know you two didn't get along," Molly mumbled.

She gave a snort before her reply. "He's a complete disgrace."

Molly pushed her luck, smiling a bit to mask her unease. "But you avoided the question… Vivi, why do you live in Fugue away from everybody?"

"Because everybody wants to be away from me! Okay?!" Vivi unexpectedly shouted. Instead of Molly cowering, The Witch did. She sunk into herself, growing quiet. "…They all hate me out there. A long time ago… I… I tried, but… My magic was never useful like Gale's. I could only destroy things. I've always been a screw up."

"Vivi—"

"You can't exactly argue. Look at yourself! You're an example of what I've always been," Vivi interjected. She sighed as the room grew quiet. "They all got sick of me. They told me to learn to something helpful or leave them alone. So I left… And I've been out here ever since."

The pair sat in silence for a few minutes, both of them wondering what was going to happen with this new information. Finally, Molly closed her book and stood. She walked across the room and sat next to The Witch on the table. "You know… I'm not the greatest success either."

Vivi narrowed her eyes. They both knew Molly rung the bells, saving Castanet's Mother Tree so that the Goddess could restore the very powers of nature. She wasn't exactly a stranger to success.

The Witch's glare said this, but Molly ignored it. "All of the things I've done… I've been told to do. I'm not very good at thinking for myself. People had to point me in the right direction and sometimes literally hand me the bells – it wasn't really all that hard. Just… someone had to step up and do it. I've always been chosen for things like that. Back in school, I was elected as the class Vice-President – Gill was the President, of course – but I didn't even want to run! I was just sort of… told I'd be good at it. And then my friends made me sign up."

"No one can _make_ you do anything," Vivi argued.

"Well, they pressured me to anyways," Molly corrected. "Like I said, I'm bad at thinking for myself. People just kind of order me around and I trust that their decision is the right one to make… Heck, Gill was the one who told me to practice reading. All those hours after school were his idea I just went along with because I had a crush on him. I didn't want to read all of those boring books. You know, I don't even think I ever wanted to be a farmer."

Vivi smiled and nudged her. "Guess we're both a couple of losers."

"Mm-hm," Molly nodded. She picked up the tray next to her and handed it over to Vivi. "Blackberry scone?"

"Nah," Vivi shook her head. Slyly looking at Molly, she tested her: "Here, you eat one."

"Okay," Molly took a scone and bit into it.

Vivi giggled. Molly stared at her, half of the food in her mouth chewed. "What?"

"You really are bad at thinking for yourself! Do you just take any old order?"

Molly hung her head in embarrassment, setting the once bitten scone down. "No… Well, not if they're crazy, I mean… I just do it without thinking… But yeah, I guess you're right – I wasn't even hungry…"

Vivi laughed harder and the sight of her got Molly giggling, too. "Careful, you might laugh so hard you turn yourself into a hyena!"

"With your luck, I'd turn _you_ into a hyena," Vivi countered.

They both laughed at how pathetic they were. Neither was actually being funny, but one finds everything funny after staying up until five in the morning. The two giggled and guffawed and made fools of each other until they both passed out with books in their faces when the sun started to peak over the horizon.


	12. The First Task

Thank you for the review, CAPJHMPAgirl! You know, I didn't have to look at your user name again that time to type it. I'm pretty proud of myself.

And I forgot to say happy weekend, everybody! Yay! Oh, and Valentine's Day. I kind of forgot about that. Hope all of your Valentine's Day adventures were romantic and cheesy and chocolate-filled. If not, I hope you saw a really good movie. :)

* * *

**The First Task**

* * *

It isn't a surprise to say that Molly and Vivi slept in all day. After staying up all hours of the night, the two were exhausted and missed most of their time in the sun. That wasn't any skin off Molly's nose – she wouldn't miss being a swan.

But Molly awoke to less than half her normal height. Books were scattered underneath her small, flat feet. Craning her neck around, Vivi wasn't anywhere to be seen. The door to the house was wide open.

Assuming correctly that Vivi left it open for her, Molly stepped outside and was surprised to see it was nearly sundown. Clouds were tearing across the sky, leaving shadows underneath them in the pink and yellow sky. The grass was rippling with the strong wind and the reeds and cattails were swaying almost horizontally. Molly could just picture the windmill at Horn Ranch spinning round and round. This reminded her she was supposed to stock up on some more rock salt, but she wasn't back at home and table salt wasn't exactly her top priority anymore.

Her thoughts were rudely interrupted by an excitable weasel. "Hey, Molly, hey! You're up, huh? You better, better hurry!"

"Huh?" Molly asked dumbly.

"It's nearly time for the moon to rise," Speed's more logical voice patiently called to her.

Molly looked out and saw the turtle resting in his usual spot by the bank. Archie, on the other hand, had no usual spot except everywhere, and he was still spinning in circles in front of her having rediscovered the existence of his tail.

Romeo spooked Molly by coming up from behind her. An overturned box was left behind him in the hollow tree. He snatched Archie's tail, forcing him to stop. "Stop. You're making me sick."

Molly rolled her eyes and hurried past them. Speed and Archie were right. Even though it was still light, the moon was already reflecting in the water's surface. It was a characteristic of summer time. Though the days were longer, the moon's span across the sky did not dwindle like the night. Molly fluttered into the water and waited by Speed for the transformation.

Since it wasn't immediate, Molly struck up conversation. "So… what exactly is he?"

Speed turned his head around where Molly was looking. Romeo was in an argument with no direction with the weasel as Archie watched a butterfly passing by, completely ignoring him. "Romeo? Or Archie?"

"Romeo. I probably sound silly, but… I can't really tell. Is he a raccoon?" She tilted her head curiously.

The old turtle chuckled. "I wouldn't say that to his face if I were you. No, Romeo's a tanuki. He's very sensitive about it, too."

"What's a tanuki?"

"Basically…" Speed said. "It's a raccoon."

Molly laughed with a brassy sound. "Thanks for the warning, Speed! I'll be sure to remember it."

"What are your plans for tonight as a human? If I may ask…" He asked in his slow way.

She pondered this, looking up at the sky. She wouldn't have much more time. "I'm not sure, actually. I think… I might go for a walk."

"I hope you find what you're looking for on your walk, Molly," Speed smiled.

Molly was about to ask what he thought she was looking for when light blinded her. As the water fell away from her and the glow dissipated as quick as it came, Molly realized what he meant.

Bending down, she gave Speed a pat on the head. "Thanks, Speed. That's a good idea."

Speed watched her knowingly as she jogged across the bridge and disappeared into the woods.

* * *

The forest was becoming easier to navigate if the Witch's House was her destination. Molly felt that most of the paths led there. Like the forest gravitated towards it. Whatever the reason, she wasn't too worried about getting back home.

_Did she just call it home?_

Molly shook her head, thinking herself silly and over-tired. But really, she had lost most of her fatigue from sleeping all day long. So she was just silly.

The sky blackened and Molly walked faster. Fugue Forest was still very creepy at night and thoughts of bears and snakes and wild dogs filled her head, making her feet and heart quicker. With every twig snapped under her own foot or howl of the wind, Molly was sure some sort of hungry creature was eyeing her from behind. The hoot of an owl nearly made her scream. But she had to keep going if she was going to find him out here…

She was just starting to lose her nerve when she came upon a clearing where a large tree stump was the only fixture. Tall pine trees surrounded the grassy area and Molly felt rather exposed.

"Hey!"

"AAAAAHHHHHH!" Molly screamed like she was a victim in a horror movie as she whirled around.

The hand that landed on her shoulder quickly pulled away. "Hey, calm down, calm down! Molly, it's just me!"

"Good gracious, Luke, never do that again!" Molly held her heart. "Where on Earth did you come from?!"

"I was in that tree," Luke pointed a thumb over his shoulder. "You're really noisy, so I heard you coming."

"Well, excuse me…" She muttered, feeling bitter at being scared silly. An alert in her brain told her she was supposed to make this guy fall in love with her though, so she quickly brushed it off with a smile. "Heh, guess I was just jumpy!"

"Uh… yeah?" Luke agreed, confused as to why Molly was smiling so big and rapidly blinking her eyes. "I'm glad I found you though – I've been out here every night looking for you!"

"Oh?" She blinked a few times.

"Uh… yeah," He repeated, distracted by her eyes. "Do you have something in your eyes?"

_So he isn't a fan of that…_ "Uh, yeah! Um… it's not important. They'll just water. No biggie."

"Uh… okay… Well, that story you told about the witch? I admit, it sounded pretty crazy at first, but no one's seen you in days. So I was extra positive you weren't making it up. How'd you get away?"

Molly sat on the stump. She started to fiddle with her hair, hoping she looked cute. "Actually, I've got the witch on my side in this. She's been feeling very bad about the whole thing and she wants to help out."

"Whoa, really? Awesome!" Luke smiled crookedly and gave her a thumbs up. He quickly grew awkward, looking at the ground and pulling at the knot of his flame pattern bandana. "Um… I'll help out, too, if I can. Since apparently I messed things up bad, huh?"

Molly quit with the hair trick. She should've known Luke was too dense for that stuff. _Take things slow. _She nodded. "Yeah… But now it's your job to break the spell."

"Okay!" Luke nodded, too. He was surprisingly confident and taking his 'punishment' well.

She tried to remember as much about the boy in front of her as possible. In school, he was never very bright and was known to fall asleep during lectures. But if there was one thing she distinctly remembered was that Luke could never back down from a challenge. Her eyes twinkled. "Are you ready to take on the challenge?"

Like lightning, Luke responded and his eyes lit up just as Molly predicted. He fist-pumped excitedly: "Alright, Luke to the rescue! What do I have to do?"

Oh. _What did he have to do?_ She couldn't just tell him: 'You have to fall in love me!' _Talk about pressure… _Besides, that sounded terrible. Who would agree to that?! Especially with a woman who was engaged? It would never work…

Molly had to think fast. She stuttered for a moment, before rising to her feet with determination. She stood in front of him, looking up into his face with feigned skepticism. "There are many trials set before you. Are you sure you're up to the task?"

Luke clenched his fist and smiled. "You can count on me, Molly!"

Molly nodded, acting the part well as she paced before him in thought. She spun on her heel in a quick stop, facing him again. "Very well! Your first task… is…"

Luke waited in genuine excitement at the prospect of being able to prove himself and fix his mistake. Molly furiously tried to think of a task worthy of a magic spell that Luke could complete. Her eyes roamed over the pine trees behind him and she smiled. "To… gather eight pine cones!"

The carpenter cocked his head to the side, visibly less excited.

"What? It's not my spell," Molly crossed her arms. She was blushing for feeling stupid with the way he was looking at her like she was crazy.

The look quickly faded and he shrugged. "Okay, fair enough."

Molly sat back down on the stump and waited for Luke to do the deed. It really wasn't a very good task… but it was the first thing that came to mind! And he was just standing there waiting… staring at her. His eyes were really rather intimidating, but she couldn't quite figure out why.

In a few short seconds, Luke returned carrying four in each hand. "Uh, here you go! Eight pine cones!"

"S-Sorry, Luke, I forgot…" Molly made up more to the task on the spot.

"What's the matter?"

"These pine cones won't do," She decided. "No, no, no! I'm sorry, but I forgot to tell you that they must come from the top of a tree!"

"Oh," Luke said. She couldn't read what he was thinking, but he shrugged it off and tossed the pine cones. "Sure! Sounds right to me."

She was glad because it sounded completely idiotic to her.

Luke walked to the nearest tree and lifted his arms up. He heaved himself onto the branch and expertly climbed the tree. The wind blew, making the top of the trees sway, including the one Luke was climbing. Worried, Molly stood below the pine, looking up after him.

"Uh, Luke?" She called. "Maybe it wasn't the top of the tree after all! Just find any old pine cone up there – it'll be fine!"

"Don't worry, Molly, I've gotcha covered!" Luke shouted back down. He swung around the trunk, disappearing from view for a moment. Just as fast as he was gone, he was back around the tree higher up. He added: "Almost there!"

Molly bit her lip, praying he wouldn't die on this ridiculous quest she sent him on. She'd never forgive herself – and she wouldn't have very long to do that since winter would be the end of her.

Luke made a jump for a higher branch, making Molly gasp and cover her eyes. He made it alright – he climbed trees all the time, so it wasn't anything to him. Luke heard the gasp and looked down. "Molly, you okay?"

"Never mind the task, Luke! Just please come down! Right now!" She begged from the ground.

He reached out and snagged a pine cone off the branch, shoving it in his pocket. "Just a few more pine cones! Be right down!"

"_Please_, Luke!"

Luke counted the pine cones in his pants and vest pockets and came up with eight. "Okay, comin' down!"

Though he was a bit slower on the way down, Luke didn't have any trouble finding his way. In what felt like an eternity to Molly, Luke's boots hit the ground and he let out a sigh. "Phew! Here, got 'em!"

"Okay, super, that's great, don't do that again," Molly let out in one breath, taking the pine cones off of his hands. They were green and sappy and altogether unpleasant to hold. The gloves on her hands collected most of the goo, ruining them. She grumbled in frustration.

Luke suddenly grabbed her hand and turned her wrist over. "Your gloves are leather? If you want to get that sap out, just use peanut butter."

Molly blinked. "Really?"

"Yeah! Old family trick! And if it's regular clothes, just use vodka or hand sanitizer. Works every time," He grinned.

"Oh. I… I did not know that!"

"Well…" He played with the knot at the back of his head again. "Uh, now you do!"

Molly smiled. "Thanks! For the pine cones, too…"

"No problem! Anymore extreme challenges?"

Molly bit her lip, not trusting herself to make up anymore that night. "Um, you know, I have to go check. I can't remember them all… Besides, it's pretty late. You should get home."

"Oh. Okay," He shrugged casually. Luke stuck his hands in his jean pockets, and Molly just noticed both knees had gaping holes where the denim was shredded to broken strings. Looking back up to make eye contact, she took in the old, ripped-at-the-sleeves white tank top (that was probably a T-shirt at some point in its life), the tough brown vest, the shark tooth necklace, and of course that silly bandana over that unruly blue hair that reached his shoulders. Not to mention his trusty axe strapped around his waist. He was… a giant kid.

"Well, good night, Luke. I'll meet you here tomorrow? For the next task?" She suggested.

"Sounds good! See you tomorrow, Molly!" He agreed.

Molly was the first to leave as it looked like Luke wasn't going to leave until she did. Her hair blew about her face as the wind picked up again. With the new secrets to getting sap out of her clothes, she didn't mind hugging the messy pine cones as she walked back through the brush to the Witch's House. She shook her head the whole way.


	13. The Second Task

Thanks for reviewing, Winter Oak! I'm so glad you said what you did. Welcome to chapter thirteen~! :D

Unless you were awake and reading fan fiction between the hours of eleven and one last night, then that would explain the unexpected updates. Put up three chapters yesterday! Woohoo! I hope I can get just as many out today, but we'll have to see…

* * *

**The Second Task**

* * *

After relaying her story to her animal friends, Archie was more than willing to give her suggestions on tasks for Luke to try. Even Romeo was having some fun with it.

"Oh, oh, oh!" Archie jumped, flicking his brown tail. "I know! I know! Make him give you a star!"

Molly ruffled her feathers, looking doubtful. "I don't know… That sounds very romantic, but… it's kind of impossible."

"And lame!" Romeo added unnecessarily. He turned to Molly, folding his legs in front of him where he lay in the grass. "No, no, no, you need to think of something _difficult._ Like… cry a thousand tears or… relinquish blood."

"Like, like, cut down a hundred trees!" Archie said.

"Bingo!" Romeo nodded.

"I don't think deforestation or _blood loss_ is going to make him fall in love with me," Molly laughed, hiding her disgusted.

Speed bobbed his head, having kept quiet during these suggestions. "Molly's right. She needs to think of something that isn't impossible or meant to torture the boy," He looked pointedly at Romeo. "The point of these tasks is to make him spend time with you."

"Speed's right!" Molly echoed. "So… what do I have him do?"

"Something difficult so it takes him some time, but make sure you're around when he does it," Speed instructed.

"Something romantic!" Archie piped up, getting the hang of it.

"And boring," Romeo yawned.

Speed sighed: "I'm sure you'll be able to think of something, Molly."

Before Molly could argue, the water swirled up around her and her wings spread up into arms, losing their feathers. Her hair unraveled and her safari themed clothes were back. Molly looked down at her friends and sighed. "Let's hope your faith in me isn't wasted."

"Finally! I thought you'd never change," Vivi's voice whined. The Witch appeared in the door frame of her house, stepping across the stones to meet up with her friend. "Where were you last night?"

"I went and found Luke," Molly admitted. "I figured I had better start this crazy plan before it's too late."

"Hey, it's crazy, but it's the only one we've got," Vivi quipped. Molly was forced to agree with a shrug. She held out a tied cloth bundle to her. "Here, I made you food."

Molly snickered as she accepted it. "Gee, thanks for packing my lunch, _Mom_."

The Witch turned scarlet. "I am not your mother! If you're going to make fun, you can go hungry – see if I care!"

Molly laughed and gave her shoulder a pat, stepping past Vivi onto the bridge. "Thanks! I had better meet up with Luke if I'm going through with this task thing."

"Wait, what?" Vivi asked. "Tasks? What are you talking about?"

"I have to go – I'll tell you later!" The farmer called from the last bridge.

"Molly!" Vivi complained, stomping her foot.

Turning on her heel, Molly shouted: "Just ask the animals!"

"And how do I do that?!"

"Introduce yourself!" And she was gone.

Vivi pouted, crossing her arms. She looked down and saw the tanuki staring up at her with beady black eyes. "What are you looking at?"

It let out a hiss, revealing small pointed teeth. "Eek!" The Witch jerked back. Grumbling to herself about being a side character, she stomped up the stone path and slammed the door to her hut.

* * *

"Luke! Luuuke!" Molly called, cupping her hands to her face. She eventually gave up, deciding he wasn't anywhere around. She was almost upon the clearing, so he must've been late.

She reached the stump, sighing and sitting down. She rested her chin in her palm, leaning on her crossed legs. Molly was just starting to feel bored when a terrible call echoed through the trees.

_What was that?!_ It was soon repeated, a loud, long, howling sound. Molly was on her feet in an instant. She twirled around, not seeing any suspicious eyes in the underbrush. She clutched the bundle of food to her chest, cowering as she tried to look in every direction at the same time. "Luke! Where are you?"

"Molly? Is that you down there?" His voice asked casually.

Relieved and infuriated at the same time, she hurried over to the base of the pine tree he was in and looked up. "Is that you making that sound?!"

He grinned down at her. "Sure is! Moon's almost full!" He let out another raucous howl with glee. "Hey, you should come up here – it's a great night!"

"Yeah, and I'd like it to stay that way, so I won't be climbing any _trees_. I thought I made it perfectly clear yesterday that I hate you fooling around up there," She lectured, finding she was tapping her foot.

Luke either didn't hear her or didn't care for her argument. He swung he legs around the limb he was reclining on and peered down at her. "I can help you up if you want!"

"I-I'm not going up there!" Molly claimed. "Climbing trees is… is reckless and… and… dangerous and…!"

Luke was already on the thick branch just above her head. "Don't worry so much, Molly, it's fun."

She remained stubborn, but she let her arms droop to her sides. "But… what about this food? I can't leave it on the ground all by itself!"

"Don't worry about it – if some animal finds it first, just assume it was hungrier than you were to pull a stunt like that," Luke waved off her arguments. He reached down for her. "Here, lift your arms up!"

Molly did as she was told though her stomach was churning with the thought of the climb already. Luke grabbed her wrists and with a slightly painful heave, lifted her off the ground. Molly used her feet to scale the trunk while Luke continued to pull her arms. She soon found herself standing on a tree branch next to him. She looked down at the pack she left on the ground. She was about five feet in the air. "Okay, that was fun! Now let's go back down."

"Nonsense!" Luke scoffed, already lifting himself up higher. "Come on, Molly, this'll be an extreme adventure!"

"I don't want an extreme adventure!" She whined, holding onto the trunk to steady herself.

"EXTREME!" He tuned her out.

Molly grumbled, trying to figure out how Luke made climbing look so easy. Truthfully though, it wasn't as hard as she thought it was going to be. All she had to do was focus on the trunk, reaching for the nearest branch within arms' reach, and pulling herself upwards. She was much slower than Luke and by the time she reached the spot he was, he was already leaning with his back against the trunk and staring at the starry sky.

She didn't dare look down as she heaved herself up higher. Molly finally stopped on a sticky branch down and across from him. "Luke! Are you crazy?! You're going to fall down sitting like that!"

Luke looked to the side and saw her straddling a branch, holding on so tight she was chipping the bark. "Are you afraid of heights?"

"N-No!" Molly shook her head. She looked down, and her head started spinning. "Oh…! I just like seat belts! Or wings!"

Luke laughed. "Oh, hey, I forgot about that! You've probably gotten to fly, right? I wonder what that's like…"

Molly watched him stare somewhere into the night sky. "It's fun… exhilarating, really. Fun's kind of an understatement, but it's the only way I can describe it. You're completely weightless. It's like… gravity just doesn't apply to you."

Luke didn't say anything at first. When he finally looked back at Molly, he apologized. "Sorry – you know, you didn't have to climb the tree if you didn't want to. Why did you anyways?"

Molly's face fell slightly, knowing it was her force of habit. "I don't know…" She looked up and smiled though. "But… it's not so bad! I mean, if I don't look down so much, it's really kind of pretty up here."

Luke smiled wide; excited she wasn't torturing herself at his expense. "I know! You can see over the tops of the smaller trees and the sky just looks… closer up here, you know? Like you can just reach out and touch the clouds!"

Molly wanted to scold him, that he shouldn't be reaching anywhere away from the tree or he'll break his neck, but she stopped herself. Molly hated when she was a nag. Besides, this was a good opportunity to get to know him a little better. "Do you do this often?"

"What? Climb trees? Yeah, all the time!"

"Well, I meant at night. Why were you out here? That one time when I was…"

"Running around like a crazy person?" He provided. She sheepishly nodded, but now it was Luke's turn to look embarrassed. "Can't really blame you… Um… promise not to laugh?"

Molly tilted her head, scrunching her eyebrows. "Why would I laugh?"

Luke sighed. "Because I like to come out and look for shooting stars."

Molly waited for him to elaborate, holding in her giggle of surprise. You mean he had the potential for deep thinking? What?!

"I like to think if I see a shooting star and I can make my wish in time, then it will come true," He said. He tugged at the knot in his bandana. "Sounds pretty silly, right?"

"Well, sure," Molly admitted, surprising him. "But I think it's… sweet. Any chance you might tell me what you wish for?"

"No way!" Luke turned a deep crimson, but he hid it by looking the other way. "I-I mean, it won't come true, you know?"

"I understand," Molly smiled, kicking her feet. She was a little surprised she was so relaxed up here now, but her anxiety returned when she thought about getting down. "Um… so how do we get down from here?"

Luke's eyes lit up and all traces of their conversation left his face. He went right back to his silly self. "Oh, yeah! You've got another extreme task for me, right? We'd better hurry!"

Molly gasped as Luke jumped from the branch and landed on one below. He continued to swing himself down like a monkey before he was brushing off the dirt from his gloves on the ground. "Hey, Molly, you need help getting down?"

"No!" She squeaked, gently lowering one of her feet.

It took her ten minutes with Luke's coaching to get her down to the lowest branch. She stood there, hugging the trunk and looking down warily.

"Come on, Molly, you're almost there!" Luke fist pumped. "Just jump – it's not far!"

Molly was glad for his endless patience with her, but there was no way she was about to fling herself from a tree. She looked down, measuring the distance with her eyes. What was it? Five? Six feet? That wasn't very far… Just… the height of a person! Molly peered down again and pictured herself jumping from the tree and making impact with the ground. Her knees broke, her shins splintered – how could she land without breaking anything?!

Luke suddenly blocked her line of view from the ground, making the distance look much smaller. He was taller than the branch she was on! He spread his arms. "Here, I'll catch you!"

"Are you crazy?!" Molly shook her head. "I'll crush you! We'll be a mess of broken bones!"

"Don't be silly," Luke scolded lightly. "I can catch you!"

Molly was shocked he of all people would be saying this to her. _She_ was silly? It was just enough of a push for her to close her eyes and lower herself into a sitting position. "Oh, dear…!"

Molly let go of the tree branch and Luke's hands were immediately there. He lowered her to the ground as if it was nothing and she was standing safely in the grass. It was so easy Molly felt stupid for worrying.

"There, no harm done, right?" Luke smiled, releasing her. He grabbed the food pack off the ground and handed it to her. "And your food's safe, too!"

She mumbled a thanks as she took the bundle from him.

"So what's this next task? I'm ready!" He braced himself like he was about to be tackled by an invisible offensive lineman.

Luckily, Molly got an idea while she was in peril in the tree. She nodded her head and said: "Okay! The second task is to find a flower."

"A flower?"

"Yes, it's a white flower. It's somewhere in the forest," Molly explained. "You'll have to look for it, I guess. Want me to come with you?"

"Uh…" He shrugged. "Sure!"

The two set off in a direction Luke chose. He said something about a meadow with plenty of flowers, so they would check there first. Molly opened the pack and rolled her eyes. She handed Luke a blackberry scone he was more than happy to munch while she nibbled on her own. Sometimes Molly wondered if Vivi could cook anything else.

They walked in silence for awhile. It was only interrupted by Luke insisting it was 'just up ahead.' Molly swallowed her scone and remembered what Speed said. _The point of these tasks is to make him spend time with you._

She cleared her throat and smiled up at him. "So, Luke, what's your favorite color?"

He looked down at her, obviously confused. "Huh?"

"Well," Molly looked down at the leftover blackberry scones. "I figured we'd be working on these tasks together for quite awhile…"

"How many tasks are there?"

"Uh, a lot."

"Wow."

"Yeah…" She nodded. "So I wanted to get to know you better! Since we'd be seeing each other so often?"

"Oh…" Luke thought for a minute. "Okay. Sounds like a plan!"

"So what's your favorite color?" She repeated.

"Green! It's the color of life!"

Molly giggled at his enthusiasm.

Luke bounced the question back at her. "Well, what's your favorite color?"

"Hm…" Molly thought for a moment. "I think I like… yellow. Because it's so bright and cheerful."

"Okay," Luke accepted her answer with a 'fair enough' air.

"What's your favorite animal?"

"Boar! You?"

"Really? I like cats."

This kind of talk continued for the remainder of their walk. They were little nothings, but they were a good start. And the more questions Luke answered, the more Molly was sure that it wouldn't be so bad hanging out with him. He was bearable. And he could be sweet. If he could only be a little more mature… But it wouldn't be so long. Molly was still excited to get this all over with so she could have her wedding… HER WEDDING.

They were about to reach the meadow, when Molly suddenly stopped. Luke noticed and turned to her. "Molly? What's—?"

"OH MY GOODNESS! I COMPLETELY FORGOT!" Molly screamed, dropping the food and spinning around in the opposite direction.

"Molly!?"

"I can't believe I forgot!" She was chiding herself, not even hearing Luke. "What day is it?! Oh, crap, oh, crap, oh, crap…!"

Luke was wary as he approached her. "Uh… what did you forget? I—"

"Shit!" Molly cursed, stomping her foot. The minute the word passed her lips, her eyes went wide and her hands slapped over her mouth.

She turned around. Her eyes darted to Luke who was staring at her in slight amusement. "Did you just…?"

"You didn't hear that word out of me!" She pointed sternly. Molly smoothed her skirt as if to prove it. "I-I'm a lady…! But I have to go – just forget about the task, okay? Maybe tomorrow or something!"

Molly was already running away. Luke, still left in the dark, stared after her on her way back through Fugue. He could still hear her wailing though she had disappeared from sight. "How could I forget?!"


	14. Web of Lies

Thank you for reviewing CAPJHMPAgirl, Winter Oak, and Hope! It means so much to me. And thanks for reading, everybody! :D

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**Web of Lies**

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"You are one of the dumbest people I have ever encountered."

Molly snorted. "And how many could that possibly be?"

Vivi rolled her eyes, crossing her arms under her chest. "Enough. But how forgetful can you possibly be? You forgot your own _wedding?_"

"Well, I couldn't exactly just waltz out of here any time I wanted! I've had a lot on my plate, okay?" She whined, tying her old rucksack closed. She hefted it up and slung it around her waist.

The Witch looked her over. They knew arguing about it wasn't going to save Molly any time. She had wasted enough of the night as it was getting ready for her journey out of Fugue. If there was anyone who knew the paths of Fugue as well as Luke, it was Vivi, and she knew them better. Since her panic attack the night before when she came home screaming inarticulate nonsense with the few prominent words of 'wedding' and 'he's going to kill me,' the witch was preparing Molly for getting out of the forest as quickly as possible by foot.

Vivi switched her weight to her other hip and nodded. "Okay. Stick to the path. Never leave the path, or you won't find it again—"

"Stick to the path. Yes, Vivi, I know," Molly recited. The Witch was poking at her outfit, making sure her socks were pulled up to avoid the briars and her collar wasn't folded in and her rucksack had snacks.

"No, you don't know. That's how you got lost that first time," Vivi shook her head. "Now, when you enter the forest, you're going to see the dirt has different colors. Always stick to the lightest path. It's the driest because it's the furthest from the river. If all else fails, keep going straight. When you come to a fork, take the left path. The _left._ You'll be out of Fugue in no time. Ready to go?"

Molly actually let herself laugh. "Stop mothering me; I'll be fine!"

Vivi blanched. "I-I am not…!"

"Mmkay, whatever. I'll see you before morning!" Molly waved, stepping out the door.

The Witch followed her out and stood at the stoop, calling more advice and waving to her as the farmer crossed the bridges. "Oh, and don't touch the plants! You'll get poison ivy!"

"I've been in the forest before! I'll be okay!"

"And if you see a bear, just drop your food and run – it'll probably just want the sweets!"

"Okay!"

"And remember, don't leave—"

"GOOD BYE!"

"—the path…" Vivi finished, letting her hand fall. She looked down and saw the old turtle, the weasel, and the tanuki staring back up at her. "Don't look at me like that… she's coming back. I'm not paranoid. …Buzz off!"

Of course, Vivi was being paranoid, but Molly couldn't blame her very much. She was off to see Gill. No matter what, this time, she would get out of Fugue and find her fiancé. Even if she had to knock on his door at three in the morning – they needed to talk.

In truth, Molly was nervous, too. If she could get a kiss and an 'I love you' out of Gill, would the curse be broken? She hoped so, but somehow she knew it wouldn't happen. She had already screwed things up with Luke. Even so, there was a small chance… and Vivi was worried that if it just so happened that Gill _could_ break the curse, Molly wouldn't ever come back.

Different lies and excuses cluttered Molly's mind as her feet followed the dusty trail. What could she tell him? What on Earth could she say? She couldn't tell him the truth… Gill wasn't as gullible, albeit as trusting, as Luke. He would never believe her story, no matter how true it was. It was unrealistic and it bordered on the impossible – two things Gill shied away from. So what would be her reason for disappearing right before their wedding day?

Molly was getting a headache. Her feet suddenly stopped. The path below her looked awfully dark. Then again, the moon was obscured by clouds, so everything was a milky black. Her eyes had adjusted well enough though that she could see the shadowy differences in the shades of dark in the forest around her, but her vision was still awfully limited. Quickening her pace, she breathed a sigh of relief when she came to a fork.

_Vivi said left, yes? Or was it right…?_ Molly bit her lip in frustration that she couldn't remember simple advice like that. It was something that annoyed Gill constantly, but she couldn't really help it. Molly was just really… _really_ forgetful. She was about to play Eenie-Meanie-Minie-Mo, when she just gave up and took the path her gut was telling her to go.

Maybe she could tell him that she got lost in the woods. That was believable enough… But for a week? She would be dead! The thought that Luke might've said something about Molly being in the forest (or anything to do with swans) struck her, and her headache grew worse. Lies were harder to tell if someone else was already puncturing holes in them.

Molly's gut was mercifully correct, and she had indeed taken the left path. The forest began to thin until the large wooden gate appeared before her. Excited, Molly ran and pushed it open. Sweet, fresh air was already filling her nostrils. After the musty, close air in the woods, the openness of Flute Fields was more than welcome to her.

She ran out into the grass and twirled, raising her arms to the sky. _Home free!_ And not a swan – that was a nice thought. But it wouldn't last forever. Even though the paths to town were easy to follow and well known to her, they would take quite a hike around the coast. Molly still needed to hurry.

So she hefted the rucksack higher on her hips and marched towards the giant stone bridge. The lie that Molly had left town for wedding plans crossed her mind, but it fell short. What plans did she have? She left and returned with nothing? She couldn't even leave town to tell her parents of her engagement. Molly didn't have any relatives she knew of off of Castanet and her parents were both dead. Her options were severely limited and her time was running out.

The most desperate excuses – kidnapped, on a pilgrimage, phobia of… celebrations – were all screaming in her head when her feet finally stopped.

Molly looked up at the dark door and sighed. She knocked once. Things were quiet, so she knocked again, this time much louder and urgent. Molly swung back on her heels for a minute before Gill opened the door.

He looked at her for a second before opening the door all the way in shock. "Molly?!"

"Um… hi!" She waved brightly. Molly eyed his button up pajamas, holding back a smirk. They were pinstripe – he was even business when he _slept! _He was so cute.

"Where have you been?!" He blurted.

In the time crunch, the best thing she came up with: "I've been… sick."

_Oh, God. Sick?! That was the best she could do?! She was __sick__? Uuuugghh!_

Gill closed his eyes and breathed for a moment, regaining his impressively collected composure as Molly admired his tousled hair (unbeknownst to him, of course). "Oh?"

Molly forced a laugh, running with it. "Ha, yeah! Sorry about… disappearing… I was—I was contagious!"

"You don't look sick now," He commented, giving her a professional once over.

"Um, I got over it," Molly provided.

"Why didn't you see Dr. Jin?"

She wanted to bark: 'Why are you interrogating me?' but she didn't. Still, Molly was terribly disappointed by his reaction at seeing her. Sure, he had every right to be mad and standoffish, but other than his initial reaction, he hardly looked worried at all… "It wasn't… a severe sickness," she managed to grumble.

Gill folded his arms. "What was it then?"

One of Vivi's warnings gave her a quick idea. "Poison ivy! Yes, I had a terrible case of poison ivy. All over! It was awful."

An eyebrow shot up. "Poison ivy isn't contagious."

Her eyes bugged convincingly. "That… I did not know! Ha, really?! Wow, so I've been in hiding for… no reason. But really, I was hideous. I couldn't have been seen looking that way. With such a blotchy, red, flakey complexion – the oozing, ugly, swells all over my—"

"Okay," Gill surrendered, disgusted by her description. As her intention was. "Whatever. But don't you realize what you've missed?"

"I know, I'm so sorry, Gill…" She looked down at her twiddling fingers.

"Molly, our wedding was supposed to be _tomorrow._"

"Heh…" She tried to smile, but it didn't work.

"Not a word from you and you were never home! How was I supposed to find you? Did you expect me to just casually wait around and plan the wedding by myself – without even knowing where you were?" He lectured.

"I'm sorry," She repeated guiltily.

Gill tapped his foot, but sighed. "But I guess it's not the end of the world… We'll just reschedule. Next week?"

Molly perked up, but frowned nervously. "Um! About that… That was the real favor I was asking…"

He looked at her, obviously exhausted.

She went ahead anyways. "See, I'm not completely healed… and er – I don't want a fall wedding. I couldn't… I mean, I've always…" _Luke hasn't broken the curse for me yet._

"Molly, you're mumbling."

"Sorry – can we have a winter wedding?" She squeaked. _I need the time._

"Winter?!" He gaped very unprofessionally.

"Yeah! S-sometime after your birthday…? So the dates aren't too close… or… something…" _I have until the first snow…_

"Molly—"

"Please, Gill?" She was on her last legs. If she told one more lie, Molly was sure she'd get sick all over his poor pinstripe pajamas. "Wouldn't the snow be so romantic? It's all I want. Please?"

With a hand over his face, he asked: "Why didn't you say this before…?"

"B-Because I… I didn't want to make it an issue."

"Well, it's obviously an issue now that you waited to tell me," He stated.

The stress of lying to him, being lectured, and the entire situation in itself fell heavily on her shoulders that started to shudder. The first tears slipped out before Molly gasped back a sob.

Gill certainly wasn't heartless – and he loved his bride in his own way. Wrapping his arms around her, he pulled her close as she stood at his front door bawling her eyes out. She rested her chin on his shoulder, holding him tight. "I'm s-sorry…" She hiccupped.

"Sh, it's just stress…" He comforted. "This whole wedding business could get to anyone. I've been upset, too. I thought for awhile that you ran out on me."

Molly hugged him tighter. "No! I wouldn't!"

Gill pulled away from her and cracked a small smile. "Good. Would have been so embarrassing."

She smiled and rubbed the tears from her face.

He suddenly cocked his head to the side. "Is there any particular reason you had to tell me this at four in the morning?"

"I – er, couldn't sleep?" Molly ventured. _Four?! She had to hurry…_

"Well… next time come at a decent hour," He lightly scolded, holding the door.

"Okay!" She nodded obediently. "Um… I'll try to see you later for planning and stuff, okay? Maybe…"

"Let's just wait until after the Firefly Festival. There is quite a bit of preparation I have to do, so I'd rather not think about winter just yet."

"Oh. Yes, of course," She had completely forgotten about the summer festival. It was romantic in a way, but it was also very somber. Remembering ancestors and paying respects… but the fireflies and the lanterns in the river were breathtakingly beautiful.

"I'll see you at the festival then. Good night, Molly," He nodded, shutting the door quietly so as not to wake his father.

"Er—bye…" She mumbled, turning on her heel.

Her feet carried her back down the paths towards Fugue. Molly wasn't particularly excited about re-entering the forest, but her mood was vastly different. She was elated! Somehow, some way, it worked. She had fooled Gill. It wasn't something she was especially proud of, but she was still shocked she was capable of such mischief. Who knew she had it in her?

Even though she didn't get her kiss – which wasn't really expected since Gill was hardly romantic or dramatic enough to just kiss her on the spot – Molly wasn't too worried. Perhaps she could try at the festival and in the meantime, it wouldn't hurt to keep up those ridiculous task things as a backup.

There was a skip in her step as she passed the gate into the forest. _Everything was going to be okay after all… It wouldn't be so bad…_ Molly could do this. She was confident even. No curse could keep her down for long!

But the last thing she expected to see that night was lying in the grass in front of her. Somehow, the path that led out of the forest intersected with the familiar clearing, and she hadn't noticed it on her way out. But there she was, in the open section surrounded by pine trees and the old stump. And Luke was sprawled out on the ground in front of her.

Timidly, she walked up. Was he hurt? Had he finally fallen from that stupid tree?! But, no. Luke was lying flat on his back, facing the sky. His mouth was parted slightly, and Molly realized the carpenter was sleeping.

"Luke?" She asked, staring down at him. He didn't respond. What was the best way to wake him? Molly didn't want to scare him. He might whip that axe out and with a mistaken swing, she could be done for.

Well, our Molly thinks too much and for too long. As she hovered over him, Luke opened his eyes in surprise at the shadow and attempted to leap to his feet – crashing his skull into hers. The pair fell back, holding their rattled heads.

"Ow!" Molly groaned. "Luke, what's wrong with you?!"

Luke scrambled to his feet and snatched Molly's arms, helping her to stand. She steadied herself while trying to look angry. "Sorry – I'm sorry! I just wasn't… Man, you scared the shit out of me!" He held the knot of his bandana, trying to laugh it off.

"Don't apologize so much – it's annoying. And you shouldn't be using that language," She nagged, patting down her skirt.

"You did, though."

She turned crimson. "I—I said you didn't hear that! It was… a mistake. In the heat of the moment, I…"

He put a large hand on her head and ruffled her hair like she was a child. "Hey, don't sweat the small stuff!"

She frowned, staring up at him. He… was so strange. She just barked at him and rudely started nagging and he just… didn't care? What was _wrong_ with him?

Molly pushed his hand off her head, trying to hide her confusion and embarrassment, but she wasn't sure why she was embarrassed quite yet. She brought the focus on him again. "What are you doing sleeping out here? It's almost morning!"

Looking innocent, Luke shrugged. He picked up a wrinkled white flower up off the ground that he apparently dropped. "Since you said you needed a white flower yesterday, I went and found one. Is it the right one?"

Molly eyed it in surprise – she had completely forgotten about the flower task. Blinking, she said: "Uh… I don't know – it's kind of…"

"Dead?" He asked. Luke fingered the tiny petals. "Yeah, I picked it awhile ago and it sort of started to wilt… a lot. Does it matter? I can find another one—"

"No, no, it's fine," Molly took the flower from him, ignoring the fact he was trying to hide his accident of tearing a few petals from it. She smiled. "Thanks… I'm glad you remembered. And I'm sorry for running away yesterday… You didn't have to wait all night out here though…"

Luke just shrugged and gave her a thumps up in response. "No problem, boss! Camping without any tent or anything was pretty extreme!"

Molly was trying very hard not to just gawk at him. His optimism was almost disturbing. Luke sure was a piece of work… "Um… okay? The next task can be tomorrow, if you want."

Luke looked guilty as he shifted his weight and tugged at his bandana again. Molly was given the chance to note the pieces of grass stuck to his clothes and they appeared to be the same jeans he wore the night before. "Uh, actually, I'm kind of busy this week… Pop's got me building Horn Ranch a new coop. But hey – we can meet at the Firefly Festival! Since, you know, you're out here by yourself and all. I can do another task then!"

"Oh… okay," Molly agreed without thinking. It just never occurred to her that Luke had a life and things to do outside of the small instances when she happened upon him. It was a selfish way of thinking, but it was strange to think that Luke could focus on actual work long enough to get anything done and hold down a job. It was just strange.

"Great! I'll meet you here after sundown – as usual! Night, Molly – er, or maybe good morning," Luke waved and ran off.

Molly stood dazed for a moment before turning and watching him disappear. She looked down at the wrinkled little flower curiously before smiling. Poor guy. He really was very sweet though when he wasn't trying. Did he ever actually try though? Molly couldn't picture Luke trying to court someone. He seemed too dense for all of that. Some girl would have to come along and just fall for his antics. Molly shook her head, feeling somewhat sorry for that girl, as she followed the trail back towards the lake.


	15. Being in Two Places at Once

Oh my goodness, stress! This chapter is HUGE. I had to split it up because it was just so grossly over-sized (compared to my 2,000 word median – this chapter was triple that!).

A warning: Vivi's language is a bit… strong. Just a heads up. And I am _not_ bashing Gill, I promise! He's my favorite bachelor. It's just the character's opinion.

Thanks for reading everybody! And thank you, Mishaay for the lovely review! :D

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**Being in Two Places at Once**

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Molly was on her back, staring at the sky. It was a deep blue, illuminated with the light of the full moon. The stars twinkled, not caring for a thing in the universe. They would shine forever. So bright and far away… Even when this whole thing collapsed around her, the stars would still be there.

Vivi sat down beside her in the grass, bringing her knees up to her chest. She watched the dark forest across the lake without looking at Molly. "So what's the plan?"

"Do you have a spell to split myself in two?" Molly asked. Her voice sounded dazed.

"Pfft, with your luck, I'd accidentally cut you in half," The Witch refused.

Molly let out an enormous sigh. "Well, then I'm doomed."

The girls sat there for awhile in silence. The grass behind them moved and Archie appeared. The weasel poked his head up, sniffing the air. His feet quickly took him to Molly's side where he studied her a moment before jumping up onto her stomach and curling into a ball.

"Hm…"

"What?" Vivi tilted her head.

Molly absent-mindedly stroked the weasel. "I wonder what Luke likes in a girl?"

"Pfft – how should I know?" She snorted.

"I'd better find out fast if I want this to be over… Dang it, I wish I remembered things when I talk to him!"

Vivi rolled her eyes.

"I mean, I didn't even remember that I was going to the festival with Gill…! I just was so… blank, I guess," Molly decided. Her brown eyes blinked at the sky for a few moments. "I even forgot to ask him if he told anyone about the swan thing."

"Maybe you're a terrible conversationalist," The Witch provided.

Molly ignored her, her voice rising. "You know what? It's all his fault!"

"Who's fault?"

"Luke's fault, of course! He's so… so weird! I mean, he's staring at me, telling me these deep, philosophical things about wishing on stars, and the next minute I feel like I'm baby-sitting! Vivi, this'll never work."

The Witch stretched out her legs, picking fuzz off of her knee-high black tights. "You give up so easily. It's annoying."

Molly bit her tongue in irritation. But… maybe Vivi was right. Maybe Molly _was_ being annoying. Maybe she should just suck it up and get things over with. But how many times had she told herself she'd do that? It was so much easier said than done. And here she was the night of the Firefly Festival, late for both of the dates she accepted.

Vivi tapped her chin, wondering whether or not she should suggest her plan to her friend. It was a little risky… Okay, it was very risky. Gill or Luke might see right through it, and she wasn't very fond of long-winded explanations. Finally, deciding that it was better than Molly running back and forth between the two boys all night, The Witch cleared her throat. "You know, being a witch, I have a few tricks up my sleeve… And I might be willing to share."

"What's that?" Molly asked, still staring up blankly.

"Well, I might know a small spell… Something _like_ splitting you in two. I normally use it to steal cattle," Vivi admitted, "But, it might just be what we need. And I don't know how it'll work with you, but it's worked with that girl Renee—"

"Spell?" Obviously, Molly was only listening to the important parts.

The Witch sighed. "Okay, look. I use a spell to make myself look like that ranch girl Renee, so I can steal her cows without much suspicion."

"That's it!" Molly suddenly sat forward, taking up a surprised Archie in her arms. She whacked Vivi in the arm excitedly. "You can use a spell to look like me?! Why didn't you tell me before?! Ah, this is perfect!"

"It is?"

"YES!" Molly hit her again. "See, you use your little spell and go spend the festival with Gill, so I can—"

"Gill? Why do _I_ have to be the Gill Molly?" Vivi whined.

"Because I don't need you confusing Luke," Molly said.

"And I won't confuse Gill?"

Molly waved her hand. "Don't worry – just don't say much! He'll talk over you anyways."

"How charming."

"This is great!" Molly squealed, squishing poor Archie into a hug. "Oh goodness, you have no idea how this makes everything so much _easier_—"

"Now hold up," Vivi warned, slapping a hand over Molly's rambling mouth. Vivi's eyes turned to slits as she explained to her. "The spell won't last long. I've only got a couple hours tops."

Molly licked The Witch's hand, making the silver-haired girl recoil. "No problem! That's about the length of the festival. Just fake sickness to leave early or something."

"Not the only problem. And… ew," She rubbed Molly's spit off her hand on her striped shorts. "In order for the spell to make me look like you, you might lose… some… things."

Molly's stomach felt sick, picturing herself as a floating head. "Like… what?"

"Just some minor control of your body – it's not a big deal!"

"Not a big deal?!"

"Look, we'll be sharing a body. Kind of," Vivi put a finger to her chin, thinking. "Hm. It's hard to explain. But because I'm generally taking and making a copy of you and putting myself in it—"

"Ew…!"

"—we share movement."

Molly stared at her, putting it together. "Wait, so… whatever I do, you do? And whatever you do, I do?"

"Yeah," Vivi nodded. She chuckled. "Ha, that's why I make Renee go to sleep so I can tie her up. Otherwise, she'd be running around like a lunatic while I steal her cows out in the field."

Molly's jaw dropped. "This will _never_ work!"

"Well, I told you it was a long-shot!" Vivi crossed her arms and pouted, nose in the air. "I thought you wanted to be in two places at once – I told you what I've got. That's it. You want to fix your problem? It's either this or you stand up one of the boys. Your choice."

Molly slouched. Was this wise? By no means. But what choice did she have? Vivi put it rather plainly. Late as she was, it was either disappoint one of the boys or give this spell a try. "Well… Let's just give it a go."

Vivi's eyes lit up. "Ooo, goody!"

"So what do you have to do? Stick me with something?" Molly hated needles.

The Witch stuck out her tongue. "Ew, no. It's just a short incantation. I do it all the time—"

"As you said. Poor Renee."

Vivi ignored her and stood. Molly followed her up, still holding the weasel. Vivi, swatted at her hands and Archie jumped down with a squeak. The Witch put Molly's shoulders back and made her stand up straight. "Okay, you just relax a second."

Molly closed her eyes, waiting for something to happen as Vivi whispered something. It was only a few seconds before an unfamiliar voice asked: "How do I look?"

Molly blinked her eyes open and started back in surprise. "OH GOD!"

"What? Did something go wrong?" What should have been Vivi asked. But standing in front of Molly was a replica of herself. Though… it was much more foreign than standing in front of a mirror. This person was standing differently and wearing another expression. But when she looked back down at herself, her hips were slid to the right as well.

"No, no… it's… perfect," Molly gawked. She lifted her left arm and her copy lifted her left arm as well. Having a little fun, she made great circles with her arms and hopped from left to right, watching the second Molly doing the exact same thing. "This is so weird!"

"Stop it!" Vivi demanded, rooting herself. Molly was suddenly forced to stop and her arms were held tight at her sides.

"Do I really sound like that?" Molly asked distastefully. Her voice was so weird.

"Yes, now focus!" Vivi rolled her eyes. She pointed a finger at Molly, making Molly point her finger back at Vivi. "Now look. This won't last long. Are you _sure_ you want me to be the Molly for Gill?"

"That sounds _so_ weird," Molly shook her head and so did Vivi. "But… yeah. I need to spend more time with Luke."

"Okay, your funeral," Molly's counterpart shrugged. Molly's shoulders slumped up and down as well.

"Why?"

"Because I'm going to let you control your own movements. So you act as natural as you can. Don't worry about me," The Witch stated. "I can talk my way out of anything… I hope."

Molly thought this sounded a little dangerous, but she didn't think about it long before another problem struck her. "Um… how am I going to meet Luke and Gill – er – how are you going to meet Gill and I meet Luke? I mean – if we walk the same, we're going to end up in the same location."

"Easy," Vivi smirked. The expression looked strange on Molly, letting the witch inside shine through. She held up her fingers. "Because _I'm_ the Witch Molly, I can still do this."

Vivi snapped her fingers and disappeared. Molly felt sick for a moment before the spinning sensation was over and her feet stumbled back as she steadied herself. Looking around, mouth agape, she pouted. "Vivi? Vivi! Ugh. Cheater…"

Molly looked down and saw Archie staring back up at her. He cocked his head to the side. "Well… She told me not to worry about her. So… I guess I'd better find Luke."

* * *

Vivi snapped her fingers again. It was the only way she could change position. Letting Molly walk, Vivi dodged trees and blasted away logs that she'd stumble over. When she couldn't see any other option, she snapped her fingers and appeared in a safer spot. It was exhausting. Over all, the process of letting Molly be in control was extremely painful and annoying.

_This night was going to be soooo much fun._

Eventually, Fugue was behind her. Thank the Harvest God that the stupid festival was just down the hill. She wouldn't have even tried if it was anywhere further. She was nervous enough about being outside the woods…

Blowing a tuff of hair out of her eyes, Vivi looked around. The flowers were glowing down the path ahead of her, but apparently, Molly was done walking so she wouldn't get there.

A man with white-blond hair was scribbling things down on a clipboard near the bridge. He would've been rather handsome if he didn't wear such a deep frown and wear such terrible clothes. Vivi openly laughed at the knickerbockers he wore – the shorts looked ridiculous! What, was he in the fourth grade?

Apparently, he recognized the laugh because he turned his head and stared right at her. His glare deepened a moment before softening as he walked up the hill to meet her. "Molly! Where have you been? You're over an hour and a half late."

"Didn't know you were counting," She sassily replied. Thank goodness that Molly and Vivi didn't have to say the same things, too! The spell would've been twice as difficult, so there was already an ounce of luck on their side as it was.

It took him off guard, and he looked at her strangely. "Are you feeling alright? Are you stressed over the wedding again?"

FFFFFFF, _this_ was Gill?! Vivi almost groaned. She let her eyes rove up and down shamelessly. _This twig?_ Right off the bat, she decided Molly had terrible taste. She was seriously getting married to _those_ shoes?! _Pfft, power to ya honey._

"Never mind, then," Gill was obviously displeased with her silence. "Let's just go to the festival – that already began half an—Molly, what are you doing?"

Vivi was sitting flat on the ground, her hands at her sides. "Um, I like this spot."

"It's so far from the river!"

"But, it's got a great view of the sky, don't you think?" She quickly provided. Vivi was rather impressed with her own quick thinking.

"Don't be ridiculous; we have to meet everyone at the beach. Come on."

Vivi wrinkled her nose at his orders. Did Molly take this all the time? Just when she was wishing she could stand up already, Vivi sprung to her feet. It was such a shock that Gill jumped back. Vivi felt her shoulders rolling and she hopped up and down like she was a boxer getting ready for a fight in the ring.

"Okay, okay, just stretching!" Vivi quipped as she was pulled along with the motions. Her arms came up, and she started to flex, making different poses.

_What the hell, Molly? Really… what the hell? _

* * *

"Um… Molly? Are you alright?" Gill asked for the millionth time.

"Never better!" 'Molly' lied. Vivi hated this. Sure, she can talk as much as she wanted, but no one could chat their way out of all her random jumping and walking into walls. It was ridiculous.

But at least she had made it to the festival. Gill had to practically carry her at first, but Vivi finally caved and broke her promise to Molly. She walked down the hill by herself, hoping she wasn't doing anything that was hurting her friend. But then again, what with all the crap Molly was doing to Vivi's body, she didn't care as much anymore.

"I feel like… you're avoiding me," He confessed. After all the running around she had been doing, she kind of thought she was avoiding Gill, too.

"Nonsense!" Vivi nodded her brown head. The short hair was bothering her, too. How did Molly live with this cut? It constantly brushed her shoulders and itched her face. "I'm nodding because I agree I'm not avoiding you."

"Okay…?" He couldn't stop staring at her. Not in a good way either. "You've been acting very strange. Are you tired?"

"Very! Oh, so tired!" Vivi was glad he provided a good excuse. "Exhausted, really. I barely know what I'm doing."

"You could've called and cancelled. It's understandable," He said.

Vivi was glad he was at least considerate of her health. All night, he had talked over her (like Molly said he would), but he also ordered her around and corrected her. She decided this was a good thing in a way – that Vivi was in control (kind of). She would take this opportunity to give Molly a little backbone. "But I didn't want to ruin your plans. Besides, I like this festival. I think it's really—"

"Hush, look," Gill pointed, cutting her off again. Vivi looked and saw the first fireflies coming up and starting to glow over the river. "We should put our flowers in. Come on."

Gill walked down the slope, flower in hand. He turned when he realized 'Molly' wasn't following him. He waved her over, seconds away from snapping his fingers. The moment he did, Vivi's eyes bugged with irritation. "You little prick—"

"Molly! Why aren't you coming?" Gill came back to her.

"I'm… just thinking. It's a really sad festival, after all," Vivi said through gritted teeth.

"Okay, that's… good. But you have to put your flower in the water now," Gill shoved a glowing green flower with a rock in it into her arms. She dropped it, and Gill picked it back up again in annoyance. This time, her arms were waiting for him and he bumped his head on the way up. He dropped the flower in her ready arms. "Now go!"

"Right now?"

"Yes!" He said in a harsh whisper.

_Molly, move your feet!_

Vivi soon got her wish, but she said: "Okay, no need to push me! You don't have to be so bossy. Maybe I'll put the flower up–!"

"Why are you being so—?"

Gill didn't get the sentence out before Vivi jumped suddenly. She squeaked as she was forced into walking. Wherever Molly was going, Vivi hoped it was logical. Because Vivi was rapidly walking down the slope and her shoes were already submerged in water. Deeper, deeper, deeper into the river. Villagers stared as 'Molly' waded out into the water up to her stomach.

"Molly! What on Earth are you doing?!" Gill shouted, hands on his head at the sight of her.

"Um…" Vivi looked around her, trying not to move. The flower was released from her grasp, carried away by the lazy current. Giving Molly full control made Vivi a puppet to whatever she did, and she went into this knowing that. But this fiasco was going much worse than she could have imagined. Forget about freaking Luke out – Gill over here is _livid._ "I was just soooo hot. You know? Summer? Come on in! The water's great!"

"Molly, get out of that river this instant!" Gill pointed to the ground next to him.

"What, do you expect me to come running like your little bitch?" Vivi muttered. She didn't know what Molly saw in this guy. Sure, she was stressing him the hell out, but the guy was such a douche bag. He hadn't done anything but order her around all evening.

Luckily, no one heard her. But unfortunately for Vivi, Molly decided to kneel. Holding her breath, her eyes shutting just in time, Vivi plunged underneath the surface. Her lungs almost immediately started to burn from the salt water. _Yeah… this wasn't going to last long._

Right when she was about to say 'screw it,' and swim back to shore, a pair of strong arms wrapped around her and pulled her to the surface. She came up sputtering and blinking rapidly.

Just when Vivi thought Gill had grown a pair and came to her rescue, a muscled man with dark hair dropped her on the bank. She coughed, and Gill was suddenly hanging over her.

"Thank you, Owen," He nodded to the dripping wet miner. "Molly, what were you thinking?!"

Vivi wanted to complain that she wasn't, but that wouldn't have gone over well. Molly forced Vivi to sit up and her head spun.

"Hey, are you okay, Molly?" Another voice tried.

"You need a blanket?" A woman asked.

_Gee, these villagers still liked her after all of this?_ "I'm fine, thanks. Just er… slipped…"

Gill sat down next to her as the crowd started to disperse. Before he could open his mouth though, Vivi cut him off. "Just give me a minute – I need some quiet."

So they sat silently for a few minutes, Gill was still steaming out the ears but his face continued to grow more calmer with time, and he took on a worried expression. Vivi enjoyed relaxing while she could.

Gill finally grew restless enough to talk again. "What were you thinking, Molly? You almost drowned! Do you realize how reckless that was?!"

Before she could think of something to say, Vivi was pulled to her feet. After some unidentifiable hand motions, she suddenly started to sprint, running right into a long-faced woman and passing her by. Her feet carried her up the hill and away from the festival. _Thank goodness…_

She finally felt in the clear. But Gill was quick to follow right behind her.

"Molly, I don't know what's gotten into you, but I've had quite enough of—"

Vivi suddenly started to jump up and down, pumping her fists in the air. Molly must've won something – Vivi hoped it was good. Because she just sucker punched her fiancé in the jaw.

Though Vivi didn't regret it, she knew Molly would. She immediately started apologizing. "I'm so sorry! Total accident! Didn't see you there!"

"What are you doing?!" Gill stared as she continued to hop around. It suddenly stopped, but his glaring didn't. Tears rimmed his eyes, but Vivi wasn't sure if they were from the embarrassment, the anger, or the punch. _What a pussy._

"I… was just happy. Because you organized this festival so well?" She tried.

"Until you made a fool of me!" Gill retorted. Vivi inwardly cringed. "I don't know what's wrong with you, Molly, but… I don't know what I'm going to do with you."

"Look, Gill, I'm sorry, okay?" Vivi tried a different approach. _Fine, fight fire with fire._ "But I demand some respect! Who cares what I may or may not do? You're supposed to support me. We're – and I'm sitting now, I guess – we're engaged to be _married!_ Maybe you shouldn't worry so much about your little festival and take a look in front of you because I am fed up with the way you treat Molly!"

Vivi thought she was actually getting through to him before that last word came out. He stared down at her like she was officially off her rocker. "Molly, wait here. I'm going to get Jin, alright? Don't move."

The Witch didn't know who 'Jin' was, but she could already feel the spell wearing off. The connection to Molly was diminishing. When she ran a hand through her hair, she saw silver. Her hair was already back!

Luckily for Vivi, Gill was already turned around. When he looked back, she had already snapped her fingers. From the cover of the forest, Vivi saw Gill looking around and calling for Molly.

Vivi turned on her heel and snapped her fingers again. Teleporting sure beat walking, but it was the last time she would snap her fingers in awhile. The poor witch was exhausted. From all the running and jumping and lying and swimming and punching – Vivi was beat. She stepped quickly through the woods, going over what happened at the festival through her mind. How was she going to explain this mess to the farmer?


	16. The Third Task

So now that we've seen the horrendous outcome of Vivi at the Firefly Festival… this is what was happening over here with Molly. :D

* * *

**The Third Task**

* * *

Luke felt everyone's eyes were on him. Walking away from the festival by himself with two glowing flowers did look a little suspicious, but he was glad nobody stopped him on his way to the forest. But he was still nervous someone would start interrogating him – someone like Gill (who was pacing and hovering over the festival like a bee). He finally breathed easily the moment he was past the gate into Fugue.

He wasn't quite sure what he was doing. Then again, anyone would say that was always the case with Luke. But lately, what with this whole task business, Luke wasn't feeling quite right. No one had asked him where Molly was – why should they? Molly usually had nothing to do with him. But he still felt guilty when people would wonder where she was. He hadn't lied yet, but he still felt dishonest. At first, he wanted to get help for her, but with the way she was acting, he felt that Molly would be really upset if he brought more people into it.

So although he was coming to do another weird swan task (why did she need so much stuff?), he had wanted to bring the flowers along anyway. It was the Firefly Festival after all… And every year, he lit a flower for his mother. Maybe Molly wanted to do the same for her parents.

Luke hadn't really thought about that before today. Molly didn't have any parents. Luke still had Dale – that was more than nothing. She must be really sad and lonely without them. Even though his dad yelled sometimes (or as a general reflex to whatever Luke happened to be doing) at least he was always there…

He wasn't paying attention, and a pine branch suddenly whacked him in the face. Luke lost his train of thought.

* * *

Archie wound up following Molly through the forest. Romeo was curious enough to tag along, too, leaving Speed to slumber by the lake. Molly found it odd how the creatures chattered and snorted behind her. They were typical animal noises. But she knew they were perfectly logical words now. She wondered how she'd feel about eating meat after all of this…

Probably wouldn't change. It was just too good.

Her feet stopped. She looked up and around. "Well, this is the spot. Looks like he's even later than I am."

Molly sat on the stump, resting both her palms on the edge. Archie and Romeo stopped in front of her.

"This hasn't been going very well lately, to be honest," Molly told them. They could understand her, right? The way they were looking at her made it seem like they did. So she continued. "Being myself isn't really getting me anywhere… I nag too much. And I'm a worrywart. I don't think I always have been…"

_What happened to the live wire we used to know?_

_Dear, you're not the same…_

_Jeez, you've become such a snob dating him!_

_It's a good change._

Molly frowned. Even now, she missed her friends. In truth, she hadn't given them much thought, but now that the words of their last meeting were coming back to her, she genuinely missed Selena and Luna. Selena's sarcasm and quick wit and easygoing personality. Her spice and love for adventure. And Luna's good advice and practicality and charm. Her fiery temper and her energy.

Now that Molly really thought about it, they were right. Molly _had_ changed. She used to find herself so much easier relatable to Selena. Back then, Molly was wilder and zany and maybe even daring. That was how she and Selena had become such good friends. But now… she found she could relate more to Luna. How grown up she was. How things she used to consider fun or challenging looked stupid and reckless. What happened? Did Gill really have that much of an influence on her?

_It's a good change._ The memory of Luna's voice reminded her again.

"Maybe Luna's right… Maybe I've changed for the better," Molly told her animal friends. But it was still harassing her inside. The thought that she could so easily be influenced. "I guess I'm a product of the people I'm around…"

Romeo yawned. Archie pawed at his face, making him upset. He snapped at the weasel who started squeaking and circled behind Molly's legs.

"Well, I can't exactly say that's over, but… maybe hanging around with Luke will do me some good. Get back some of the stuff I lost, huh?"

Archie looked up at her, acknowledging the change in attitude. That's right – she needed to change! She did it once, how hard could it be to do it again? She suddenly stood, making her friends jump back in surprise. "Yeah! I'll just… act more like Luke! I've got to loosen up – chill out. Think easygoing," She rolled her shoulders and hopped to demonstrate this. "Can't worry so much. That's Gill stuff – gotta think like Luke. Like Selena. Yeah… Okay."

The tanuki and the weasel stared up at her, sitting and watching her self-coaching.

Molly posed for them, flexing non-existent muscles. "I'm empowered! I'm… free! I… kind of feel stupid…"

The looks she was getting proved this.

"Well, what would Luke say? Hm… That's not hard. 'This is extreme?'" She tried, using her deep 'Luke' voice. She wrinkled her nose at the result. "Yeah, that's dumber when I say it. Well, what would Selena do? Well, she'd slink around everywhere, showing off. I'm not very good at that either…"

"What was that, Molly?" Luke called.

Molly jumped, turning around. "Oh, hi, Luke! Okay… think easygoing… You can do it."

Archie and Romeo scurried off as Luke ducked under a branch, eyeing it as it passed behind him like it would come back and bite. He held two glowing flowers in his hands, one pink and one yellow. "Uh, did you say something?"

"Er – no!" Molly shook her head, smiling. She spun around to show him Archie and Romeo, but they were gone. "Just talking to—er, no one… I guess."

"Oh, okay," Luke accepted this with a shrug. Molly could swear he was wearing the same pants again, but her brain told her to ignore it. "Let's get these in the water so we can do that task!"

Before Molly could respond, her feet suddenly started to move. Against her will, she walked straight past Luke and hit a tree where she continued to walk into the trunk.

"Uh… Molly? Over here?"

The sensation stopped and Molly pulled herself away from the tree. "Um… okay, let's pretend that didn't happen." _Guess Vivi needed to be somewhere… Oh, Goddess, luck be with her!_

"Okay!" Luke nodded. He held out the flowers in his hands. "The yellow one is yours."

"Alright," Molly shrugged, holding out her hands.

Luke handed her the yellow, keeping the pink. "You said you liked yellow, right? They didn't have any green ones left…"

"So you got pink?" She asked.

"Er—I thought it was going to be red."

Molly giggled and rolled her eyes. "So where's the river from here?"

Luke was playing with the knot on his bandana, making Molly feel like she said something wrong. She realized he only tended to do that when he was uncomfortable. "Um, that way. Not far."

"Okay!" She quickly nodded, following his hand and walking as fast as she could in that direction.

They wound their way through the trees, careful not to drop their flowers as they dodged the prickly underbrush. Soon enough, the area cleared and Molly's shoes hit a pebbled beach. The river ran before them, much faster than where the festival was being held. The cold water ran over rocks, carrying leaves swiftly along the current. The moon above sparkled with its full light.

"Huh, that was quick," She commented, walking out to the stream. It was thinner here, too. "I bet I could wade across."

"I wouldn't – it'd go past your waist and then you'd be all wet," Luke said. This caution surprised her and Molly clearly showed it in her face. Luke took that as an invitation. "Unless you want to – we can race!"

"Uh… nah," She shrugged. Okay, that was better. Molly was worried that she was starting to rub off on him. A cautious and attentive Luke? Horrors. No one would have believed it, so she was glad it was quickly forgotten. "So… you first?"

Luke nodded and kneeled on the bank. Molly noted his pants were getting wet, but she opted not to tell him. He wouldn't care anyways. "Here's to you, Ma."

Molly bit her lip as his flower spun and was pushed by the water downstream. So her flower wouldn't be left behind, she quickly stooped and placed it in the water. "Yeah, um… here you go guys…"

The yellow flower with the moonstone inside caught up with the pink flower and the two spun around and out of sight.

Luke surprised her by being chatty. "When I was a kid, my Dad would always put a flower out for my Mom. I didn't understand it at the time…"

Molly sat back on the stones. They were rather cold, but it wasn't too bad. She hugged her knees and watched the river go by. "My parents never really liked this festival… Don't get me wrong – it was important, but it always made them melancholy."

"Yeah… it's kind of sad."

After a minute of silence, Molly suddenly yelped. She was dragged backwards across the rocks, her legs kicking in the air as the invisible force pushed her.

"Molly?!" Luke jumped up.

As soon as it began, it was over and Molly was lying on her back. "Um… ow."

"Are you okay?!" Luke stood over her.

Molly stared up at him, still shocked at what happened. _What the hell was Vivi doing?!_ "Uh, yeah, I think so…"

Since she showed no sign of moving, Luke sat down next to her. Molly sat up and after much insisting, Luke was forced to drop the strange occurrence.

Molly piped up again, trying to get things back to normal. "This festival is sad, but… I always liked to think that our ancestors had better things to do than just watch us… Actually, I kind of found it rather creepy when people said that."

Luke laughed. "Me, too! I just thought that this festival was like a reunion for all the ancestors. I always hoped they were having fun."

Molly smiled. A few minutes went quietly by before thousands upon thousands of fireflies erupted from the bushes. They circled and swirled up into the air over their heads with a light to rival the stars. They sailed through the canopy of the trees and into the sky. Molly gasped in surprise. "I've never seen anything like this!"

"Wow!" Luke agreed. "I guess there are more fireflies out here in the woods, huh?"

"No kidding!" Molly nodded, not able to look anywhere else but up.

Without shame, Luke confessed: "When I was little, I thought all they were souls."

"Souls?"

"Yeah! Like… the ancestors or something. They all got to fly up and… I don't know."

Molly was surprised in herself – she didn't want to laugh. For a child, it was logical enough – albeit, slightly weird. But she could see what he was thinking. She said so aloud. "It's okay – I think I can see it, too."

"Cool!"

The minutes ticked by and the light of the fireflies still didn't fade. "Wow, the current's pretty fast here," Molly said in the silence.

Luke let out a massive yawn. "Sorry – yeah, I guess it is."

Molly laughed as Luke yawned again. "Tired?"

"Kinda," He shrugged, leaning back into the stones.

"Let's sit in the grass – these stones aren't very comfy," Molly suggested.

Luke half-heard her, letting his eyes droop. Molly stood up and tugged on his arm. "Okay, I'm coming! I'm coming!"

Molly pulled his arm harder and he stood up. "Hurry up, lazy! Let's race!"

Luke was the obvious loser. Molly sprinted to the grass by the trees and jumped a few times in a victory dance, brimming with energy and not remembering poor Vivi. Luke walked slowly there and collapsed back into the grass with another yawn.

"Are you okay, Luke?" Molly asked, letting some of her worrywart out as she sat beside him.

"Uh-huh," Luke nodded, looking sleepy. He fell back into the grass. "It's been a long day!"

Molly frowned. The thought never occurred to her that Luke woke up in the morning, worked all day, and then spent all night with her. When did he get to sleep? She was always thinking of herself… "I'm sorry, Luke. I forgot you have things to do during the day."

"Oh, hey! What about the task?" He asked, bolting up.

"Sh, it's okay!" Molly held up her hands.

Luke laid back down, putting an arm across his eyes. "Sorry, Molly, I forgot! Already!"

She crawled around him and knelt by his head. Molly propped Luke up, using her knees like a pillow. He opened his eyes and saw her face. "What? You didn't look comfortable."

"Pfft, I'm sorry," Luke closed his eyes again. "Maybe I'll come back first thing tomorrow and—"

"Don't bother! I mean…" An idea started spinning in her mind. Molly shook her head though he didn't see it. "It's really simple, actually! You just need to… say a spell."

"A spell?" he asked, opening his eyes again.

"Yeah," Molly nodded to his golden gaze. "Just repeat after me, okay?"

"Uh… okay, sure."

Now what was a good spell? She decided on a poem. Actually, it was part of a lullaby her mother used to sing, but she thought it sounded enough like a spell. "Toora, loora, loora."

"Toora, loora, loora," He repeated sleepily.

"Toora, loora, lie," Molly continued.

"Toora, loora, lie."

"Toora, loora, loora."

"Toora, loora, loora."

Molly had to stop herself from saying: 'It's an Irish lullaby,' at the end. "Uh, that was it! Good job!"

"That was it… Good job…" He yawned.

Molly laughed and tapped his forehead. "No, Luke, it's done! That was it."

"No, Lu—oh? Oh, okay. Glad I could help…"

Molly smiled and looked up. The fireflies were dwindling. The glow was fading so that their tawny light no longer illuminated the beach, and the night was reclaimed by the bright whitish blue of the moon. The leaves rustled in the soft summer breeze.

Luke suddenly spoke up, surprising her. "I had this dream once… that my axe had two heads…"

"Oh?" _Was he sleep-talking?_

He spread his arms to demonstrate its size, keeping his eyes shut. "Yeah, it was like… this big."

"Wow."

"I know, it was awesome," He agreed. "Bo and I tried to make it, but Pops said it was stupid…"

"Aw, I'm sorry," Molly sympathized.

"I'm going to make it someday… and it'll impress everybody… and they'll all think I'm so smart. 'Look at that! Look what Luke built! He's so… smart… Wooo! Yeah!'" He made various, soft audience noises.

Molly frowned. Was he really sleep-talking? She wouldn't know if he would confess that kind of insecurity to her if he was wide awake. She had no idea he felt that way. "Luke, you're plenty smart."

"Nu-uh, I'm stupid… Everyone says so."

"You're not stupid," She scolded. But… was it true? Sure, he wasn't book smart, but… "You're a different kind of smart. You don't need books to tell you things – you go out and figure stuff out on your own. People are just jealous. They wish they were brave enough to learn on their own, but they're… not. They take the easy way."

Luke blinked an eye open, surprising her. "So what's your dream then?"

"Huh?" Molly tilted her head.

"You know – ultimate goal? Something too weird?" He ventured.

Molly shook her head. "No…" What was it? Luke wanted everyone to accept him – and build a freaking huge battle axe. But what did Molly want? Sure, she didn't want to be so impressionable, but was that really a dream?

She finally answered: "I'm not sure. I don't think I have one, really."

"Nothing? Well, that's a problem," Luke decided. He yawned again. "We'll have to fix that…"

Though Molly wasn't sure what he meant, she decided she would wait to find out. It was getting rather late and if she didn't do something, Luke would sleep here all night. She nudged his head. He didn't respond. His mouth was parted slightly. He was gone. Another idea, Molly suddenly gasped: "Oh my goodness! It's raining chocolate!"

"What?! Really?!" Luke sprang up to see.

Molly laughed into her hand. "No, but I think you'd better get to bed. It's pretty late."

Luke held the knot of his bandana and nodded, standing up. "Uh, yeah! Good idea. I'll be back tomorrow for—"

"Never mind. Let's wait a few days for the next task, okay? Catch up on sleep," She suggested.

"But, Molly—" He started to whine.

"You'll need to be in peak physical condition for the next challenge!" She stood up, posing with her fists. "You don't want to slack off, do you?"

This was convincing enough for him, and Luke ran off shouting his goodbyes and promising to see her in a few days. Molly laughed as she watched him go and spun around on her heel. A few steps into the trees and someone grabbed her shoulder.

Molly screamed with surprise until she saw the person connected to the hand. A bedraggled, slightly wet Vivi was glaring daggers at her. "That spell… _never_ again."


	17. Proven Guilty

Winter Oak: Yeah… since everything was one chapter originally, the sections were all layered together. Sorry if it got confusing or tedious!

Thanks for reading!

* * *

**Proven Guilty**

* * *

"So was it bad?"

"Understatement of the year, honey."

"Oh, dear…" Molly nibbled her lip, focusing her eyes on her shoes.

"I'm actually not that disappointed," Vivi admitted, keeping in step with Molly.

"What do you mean? You said he was angry and thought I belonged in a mental hospital!"

Vivi nodded, folding her arms behind her head. "Yeah, I'm not denying that."

"Vivi!" Molly whined.

"But I'm surprised you care, honestly."

Molly gave her an incredulous look. "He's my _fiancé._"

"And I'm trying to figure out why," She said, not holding her opinions back. "I mean, he's such an asshole."

"Oh, Vivi…" The poor girl held her head.

"I'm serious!" The Witch insisted. "He treats you like garbage! I wanted to give him a piece of my mind! I actually kind of did…"

"You what…?"

"Hey, he deserved it! He was yelling at me, and giving me orders, and whining like a little baby. Driving me freaking _nuts_," She haughtily crossed her arms under her chest, glaring at the woods as they walked.

Molly sighed. "I'm sure it was because you were acting strange… Which, yes, I admit, it's my fault for making you look weird!" She admitted before Vivi could glare accusingly at her. "He was probably stressed from the festival… and the wedding… and you bouncing all around and sassing him—"

"He was unreasonable the moment he set eyes on me," Vivi defended herself. "No matter what you say can change my mind – that guy is a selfish, sissy, control freak!"

Molly grew quiet. "I wish you wouldn't say that…"

The Witch looked over at her friend. Molly was holding her sides, staring at the ground. She could swear she saw tears in her eyes.

Vivi realized she struck a chord. The guy was Molly's future husband after all… She just blatantly bashed him because… well, she doesn't like keeping her thoughts secret. But she didn't realize how much it would hurt Molly. And if she wanted to keep this friend thing, she needed to be more considerate.

"Look," Vivi began, trying to wriggle her way around apologizing. "I may not like him, but that doesn't matter. If… if you've got a thing for him, then whatever. I'll shut up about it. Okay?"

Molly realized what The Witch was trying to do and smiled. "Thanks."

"Phew!" Vivi smiled, her personality brightening considerably. "So how'd things go with the carpenter? I saw you guys all snuggled up when I found you."

"Huh?" Molly stuck her hands in her pockets.

"Yeah, you guys looked pretty cozy to me! Is he starting to like you?" Vivi was so desperate to change the subject she was surprising herself with her enthusiasm over the Luke relationship. …They probably both needed some sleep.

Molly frowned. "I don't know… But he trusted me enough to confide in me a little."

"Ooo, like what? Did he kill anyone?"

That sounded more like Vivi. Molly rolled her eyes. "No! Don't be silly… It was just childhood stuff. Nothing really important, I guess… And…"

"Uh-huh?" Vivi prompted.

"He mentioned he was kind of insecure. He thinks people around here think he's dumb," Molly told his secret. She was like Vivi in that way – she didn't like secrets. She didn't see what was secret about them. Why make a big deal? …Unless it was something like turning into a swan. Then people might throw you in an asylum. So keep that hushed up.

"Gee, I wonder why," Vivi rolled her eyes.

"No! He's not stupid!" Molly defended him. "Luke's just… I told him he was a different smart. He's more daring, you know?"

"'Daring' doesn't exactly equal 'smart,' sweet pea."

Molly grumbled at the demeaning pet name. "It is! It's risky, but he learns on his own. Through experience. That's where his information comes from – not from a book, but from things he's done."

"Huh…" Vivi nodded, half-convinced. "Well, you have a point, but I still kind of feel like you told a white lie. Unless you really believe that jargon?"

"I do," Molly nodded, more confident.

"Huh. Okay. Then you're both ridiculous," Vivi decided.

Molly stuck her tongue out at her as they reached The Witch's House. Vivi crossed the bridges first, skipping as she did so. She gracefully landed in the grass on the other side and spun around. Molly began to follow her across, but as she did, she started to glow and shrink in size. The first rays of the sun appeared in shots of pink across the sky in the east. Molly fluttered her wings, hopping off the bridge and into the water.

Vivi frowned, stomping her foot. "Oh, skittles! Guess I'll just have to wait until later to interrogate you some more… See you, Molly!" The Witch waved and hopped into her house, the door shutting behind her.

Molly stretched and kicked her feet. Now that she thought about it, she was really rather tired. She blinked her eyes and looked around for a place to rest. Paddling her way over to a low-hanging tree, Molly settled beneath its shade and slowly fell into a deep sleep.

* * *

"What was that?"

"Sh—I can't hear!"

"Will you two—?"

"Wait!"

"Say it again! I didn't hear you, Molly."

"Sh-she's waking up!"

Molly opened her eyes, feeling very grumpy. "Why…" She shook her head. "Why did you goons wake me up?"

The tanuki was hanging from the tree branch above her, and the weasel was ducking his head out of her sight on the nearby shore. Speed shook his head. The old turtle was on the bank – his shell being used by Archie for a hiding place. "Sorry, Molly… I tried."

It was dusk, so Molly really overslept if anything. She spread her wings, flapping them about to wake herself up. She splashed the water, making Romeo hiss. Molly hissed back.

"Molly, you talk, talk a lot in your sleep!" Archie chattered.

"Hm?" She straightened her neck. "I what?"

"We were enjoying the show," Romeo gave her a toothy grin.

"Seems you have a lot on your mind," Speed added.

"I talk in my sleep?" Molly asked. If she was human, her face would have paled, but it really couldn't be any whiter than it already was.

"Yeah, you said you were guilty!" Archie provided, bouncing back and forth.

"The boy giving you trouble?" Romeo snickered.

Molly glared at him – he really enjoyed her problems too much. She turned her attention to Speed. He was the only one who didn't speak in riddles or speak so fast she didn't know what he was saying. "What did I say?"

The turtle tried to recollect her wording. "I don't know exactly… But you were mumbling how you felt guilty. Then you mentioned Luke. …Then you said 'trick...' But… not much else. I couldn't hear over these two anyways."

Romeo slid down the branch, closer to the group. "So what did you do? Not… that I care… It's just the most interesting thing in the swamp at the moment. That's all."

Molly ruffled her feathers, finding his defense funny. "I didn't do anything! But… I guess, yeah, I feel guilty. Why shouldn't I?"

"Why, Molly, huh?" Archie asked.

"Well… It's not fair," She put it simply. Saying it out loud to them made it hurt more. "If this all works somehow and Luke does fall in love with me… I mean… I'm marrying Gill."

"She's finally feeling some remorse," Romeo teased with a sniff. "About time too – awfully selfish, I think."

"Selfish?!" Molly squawked. "You snooty, little raccoon! What do you know?"

His eyes flashed dangerously. Molly hadn't considered she was a step down on the food chain when she insulted him. "What did you call me?"

"That's quite enough, you two," Speed tried to interrupt.

"The self-centered swan is trying to make herself dinner. Not my fault," Romeo growled.

"What else am I supposed to do? Just… quit this whole thing? Luke's my only chance!" Molly retorted.

"Wouldn't hurt you to be a swan forever. Beats breaking hearts like they're nothing so you can have a happily ever after," Romeo countered icily.

Molly looked away. "It won't be _forever_, Romeo. …I've only got until winter."

"Winter?" Speed asked.

Molly was surprised she had withheld this information from them. "The spell will kill me at the first snow."

Little Archie gasped, a strange sound coming from a weasel. Speed gave her a look of pity, and Romeo turned away.

"Molly… You never told us…" Speed tried to comfort her.

"So what choice do I have?" She swam away from them. "Just forget it, guys. See you in the morning…"

Though it wasn't quite time for her to change, Molly stopped in the middle of the lake. She knew the spot the moon would first hit the lake, and so she stayed there, head down, until it did.

* * *

Vivi bit her lip, tossing in a sprig of chamomile. She crossed her fingers as the plant disappeared into the thick cream that was churning in her cauldron. The Witch stared intently, her eyes flicking around the mixture.

Just when she was about to give up, the yellow cream color turned a vibrant green. Vivi stared for a second in shock at her success. "HELL YES!"

The girl laughed, grabbing a wooden spoon and carefully stirring the potion. "Vivi, you gorgeous creature – you've done it again! You're absolutely genius, dear."

"You talk to yourself?"

"Eek!" Vivi yelped, dropping her spoon. It clattered to the ground, splashing green liquid on the floor. The Witch whirled around angrily with her hands on her hips. "Don't you knock?!"

Molly giggled and picked up the spoon. Standing over her on her stool, The Witch glared down at the farmer and swiped the spoon out of her hand.

"You look busy," Molly commented.

"I am. Honestly! Mortals…" Vivi grumbled, turning her attention back to her potion making.

"Hey, Vivi, can I ask you something?" Molly asked.

_Oh, so she had a reason for barging in._ "What is it? More boy talk?"

"Sorry…" Molly blushed. "I kind of talk about it a lot, huh?"

"All you ever say," Vivi nodded, not looking at her. She added a bit of salt to the cauldron, constantly stirring it. "So what's up?"

"What would you do? If you were me?"

The Witch had to mull this one over. It was a moment before she decided: "Probably what you're doing. I'd fuss over it, but I'd suck it up and do it, you know? Unless we're talking about Gill, then I'd say you drop that potato like it's hot."

Molly pursed her lips in annoyance but was more confused by the expression than angry. "No, we weren't talking about Gill. I'm talking about… you know… the Luke thing."

"You mean squashing his heart like a small bug?" Vivi mused.

"No! Er – yes? …Don't say it like that," Molly crossed her arms.

"Okay, fine," The Witch rolled her eyes, not seeing how it made a difference. She tapped the spoon on the side of the cauldron and started riffling through the shelf above her. "Well, then, yeah. I'd say you're on the right track."

Molly silently scanned the kitchenette, her hands behind her back. She nibbled on her cheek. _So Vivi thought so, too…_

"Unless…"

"Yeah?"

Vivi mumbled to herself before quickly spinning on her heel. The stool beneath her tottered dangerously, but she didn't seem to notice. "Here, give me that bottle behind you. No – the blue one. The blue! Yes, thank you."

Molly let go of the small vial as The Witch inspected its contents in the light of a candle. She swished it around a moment before uncorking it and scattering the dried plant remains into her palm.

Molly waited a moment before she reminded: "You were saying?"

"Oh," The Witch nodded. "What was I saying…? Oh, yeah. I was saying that it's best to break his heart. You know, unless you decide it's not worth it."

"That… death would be better?" Molly squeaked.

"Yeah… Only if you were drastic enough – like you loved him or something," Vivi shrugged. "I heard a poem once:

Yet each man kills the thing he loves  
By each let this be heard  
Some do it with a bitter look  
Some with a flattering word  
The coward does it with a kiss  
The brave man with a sword

So if you were brave and you fell for him, then you'd let yourself die, I guess… Which makes me feel great; thanks for bringing this up. You know… I think that bit explains your situation quite well, now that I think of it."

Fall for Luke? Who was she kidding? She couldn't see herself willingly giving up her life just to save Luke a little heart ache… _That's all it was, right? Maybe it could be worse…_

Taking her mind off of it, Molly pointed out the flaw. "Hey, I thought you said you didn't read!" She smirked. "That's an Oscar Wilde poem."

"I already told you – I hate reading. It bores me," The Witch said, testing the consistency of her magical soup with her finger. She rubbed the residue off on a nearby towel. "And for your information, Miss Snarky Pants, I _heard_ it. Oscar was incredibly interesting, but I didn't know him for long."

"You knew Oscar Wilde?!"

Vivi shrugged again like this was nothing. "I've known lots of people. Mind, I told you I was rather old."

"I… had no idea," Molly mumbled, even more curious about her strange friend. It was strange to think that she was just another person passing through Vivi's ridiculously long life. How many people had she met? Anyone else like Molly? Would she remember her a hundred years from now? Long after Molly was gone? Would she ever tell people about her? Would… she miss her?

"So, yeah – I think that's all I can tell you," The Witch decided. "It's your decision."

"So I break his heart or kill myself?"

"It's a rather terrible decision… but I'd go with the one that has the opportunity to heal," Vivi suggested. She crushed the dead leaves from the blue bottle between her fingers and sprinkled them into her potion. Snatching up the spoon again, she slowly stirred the goo.

Molly sighed. Finally paying attention to the witch at work, she stood up on her tiptoes to look into the cauldron. "What are you making?"

"A potion – what's it look like?" Vivi huffed her bangs out of her face.

Molly mimicked her, puffing at her own bangs. "Yeah, but what kind? It smells… really strange."

"That's probably the chamomile," Vivi thought a moment. "Or maybe the oysters."

Molly held her nose. "What is it?" She repeated, now more disgusted.

The Witch slapped Molly's hand that had strayed too close to the cauldron's edge. "I'm fixing that spell we tried yesterday."

Molly's eyes widened as she stared into the cauldron, careful not to touch. "You can do that?"

Vivi snorted. "Do you have any idea who I am? I've been around here as long as the Goddess – you ought to treat me with more respect!"

"Oh… I'm sorry," Molly apologized.

The way Molly was taken aback made Vivi content in her own vanity. She continued her explanation from before. "If I use this potion that makes people have twins and say the incantation from—"

"You mean if I drink this, I'll have twins?" Molly's eyes lit up with childlike curiosity.

"Isn't that what I just said?" Vivi glowered at the interruption. "But you would have to be pregnant first for it to work."

"Aw."

Vivi wrinkled her nose in distaste. She didn't see the appeal of having twins – just an extra, identical mouth to feed. But apparently Molly had a thing for them. "Anyways, I think it's worth the test. Hold on a moment."

Molly watched in slight fear as Vivi jumped from the stool and opened a cabinet, taking out two large mugs. "Now?"

"Yes, now! It's ready," Vivi said, standing on the stool again. With a wooden ladle, she scooped out the green slop into both mugs. Standing on the ground, she forced one of the mugs into Molly's hands.

"You're making me drink this?!"

"Yes!" Vivi pushed the mug towards Molly's face impatiently. The farmer cringed away. "Oh come on, don't be a baby."

"I'm not!" Molly denied, staring into the thick contents of her cup. "But… well…"

The Witch's eyes flashed. "What? You don't trust me?"

"No! Just…"

"My magic."

"Your magic."

Vivi bit her tongue. "Look, the worst that could happen is… I don't know – nothing? Just try it out – it won't last more than a couple hours anyways, remember?"

Closing her eyes tight and wondering why she was letting Vivi persuade her into this, Molly lifted the mug to her mouth. She heard Vivi say 'cheers!' before the mixture hit her lips.

At first, Molly couldn't taste anything as the soup-like consistency swished in her mouth and then hit the back of her throat. It took a few seconds for Molly to make a wry face, sputtering and coughing. "_Ick!_ This tastes like spoiled fish!"

"Sh! I'm focusing here!" Vivi snapped. She could hold her own better than Molly; The Witch didn't even flinch after swallowing the potion. Molly watched as Vivi whispered something. Vivi didn't open her eyes. "Did it work?"

"Well, you look like you if that means anything," Molly stated.

"OH," The Witch's eyes bugged at the sight of her, making her heart pound in her chest.

"What?" Molly panicked. She set her mug on the counter, feeling her face like she would find a spider there. "Vivi, what's wrong?!"

"Um… I guess next time I'll say the incantation backwards," The Witch decided with a firm nod. She swept past Molly and collected the mugs, tossing them in a pail of water.

"What? What's wrong?" Molly repeated.

"Oh, calm down. Go have a look – it's not the end of the world…" Vivi let out an irritated breath and started to scrub the mugs.

Molly dashed to the main room and looked around. Slowly, she walked towards the vanity mirror, not believing what she saw.

So it was weird seeing a copy of herself, but… a copy of Vivi? Being the copy was a completely different story. She felt intrusive. It wasn't her skin she was wearing. It was more than bizarre – it was incredibly awkward.

_So this is what it's like to walk in someone else's shoes, huh?_ Molly looked herself up and down in the mirror, adjusting the pointed hat on her head and patting her over-sized shorts. She was never a huge fan of how Vivi dressed, but now that she was wearing the clothes, she actually rather liked them. _…And now that the shoes are on, they are much cuter._

"You done staring at me yet? I know I'm pretty, but _sheesh!_"

Molly laughed, spinning around in circles on one foot. "Vivi, your clothes are so fun~! I never knew!"

Vivi smirked, shifting her weight and crossing her arms as she watched her double giddily hop around. "Well, you learn something new every day. Now quit making me look so stupid!"

Molly smirked, the famous smirk of Vivi. "What; like this?" She pulled her mouth open with her fingers, rolling eyes to the ceiling and making sing-song noises.

The Witch glared, tapping her foot. "Yes, like that!"

Molly giggled and heard her use Vivi's laugh. It was such a strange complex. She almost felt like a puppeteer, but she was pulling the strings down here instead of above their heads. "Mmkay, sorry~"

"You're enjoying this too much," Vivi noticed.

Molly rocked back and forth in her shoes, smiling in satisfaction. She held up her fingers to example: "Only a little bit."

Vivi rolled her eyes.

Molly stared into the mirror at herself. _Someone else's shoes…_

"Hey, Vivi, do you have a dream?" Molly cocked her head to the side, her silver hair falling off her shoulder.

"What?" The Witch almost laughed.

"I'm just curious!" She mused, swaying side to side. This new body was very easy to move in – like she had all the energy in the world.

The real Vivi put a finger to her chin and stared at the ceiling. When she looked back down at Molly, the tone she used surprised her. "If you make fun of me, I'll kill you. You won't laugh?"

"No. Of course not," Molly promised, standing straighter. The threat wasn't real, but it still gave her some extra motivation to keep her trap shut.

Vivi slumped her shoulders and sighed. "I've always wanted to impress the Goddess. To be so good at magic that I could perform for all the villagers. Be a true master…" The fond smile that was growing at the thought was quickly replaced by a scowl. "But never mind – I've obviously got a long way to go."

Molly was quiet. She was surprised that Vivi had something in mind, too. And here Molly thought Luke was just silly… but was she the only one without some sort of… what did he call it? Ultimate goal in mind? She felt suddenly small.

"Why do you ask?" Vivi's defensive voice broke her thoughts.

"Like I said," Molly smiled. "I was just curious."

"Well, I spilled – it's only fair if you do the same," The Witch demanded.

Molly shrugged with uncertainty. "I don't have anything in mind."

"Liar!"

"No, I'm serious!" Molly quickly held up her hands to cool Vivi's temper. "I thought I wasn't the only one… But I guess I am."

The pair was quiet for a moment before The Witch looked Molly up and down, breaking the awkward silence that had fallen between them. "Well, this is weird. But I've got some baking to do – would you like to help?"

"Yes!" Molly clapped. Her face suddenly fell. "It's not blackberry scones, is it? I'm sick of those things."

"Never thought I'd hear myself say that," Vivi said. She nodded, confirming Molly's fears. "Now you get the oven ready while I collect the ingredients!"

Molly groaned but set towards the kitchen. She was starving. Maybe Vivi would make some real food if she helped her out. And this gave her an idea…


	18. Memories and Junk

Chapter changes! With the addition of some chapters and a quick plot change, this story now has thirty-seven chapters. That was it. Yaaaaay, exciting news!

Thank you Winter Oak, Hoprocker, CAPJHMPAgirl, Hope, Lalala, and ShermanTheWorm for your reviews! They made me so happy. :D

I took quite a break from this because I wrote an entire story in the meantime. Joy Division! Woohoo! But now I'm back to finish this and Gill Gray. Thanks for your patience. And thanks for reading!

* * *

**Memories and Junk**

* * *

"You must bake a cake!" Molly declared, slapping her fist against her palm.

"What?!" Luke recoiled, almost tripping over the stump. He had the day off, so he had spent it sleeping in so he would be awake when he met Molly for the next task. But he was sure he was still sleeping or he heard her wrong.

Molly repeated it easily, lacing her fingers behind her back. "The next task is for you to bake me a cake."

"I don't know how to bake!" Luke slumped his shoulders pitifully.

She giggled, feeling playful about the whole business this evening. Since Molly had come to terms that it was either kill or be killed, she had thrown most of her cares out the window. It was reckless, but obviously, she just didn't care anymore. "Well, then I'll just have to help you!"

Luke held tightly onto his bandana, just blinking at her like a fish out of water.

Molly shooed him with her hands. "Well, lead on! Can't exactly bake a cake without a kitchen, right?"

"Er—right!" Luke nodded, spinning on his heel. He shoved his hands in his pockets as Molly skipped to catch up beside him. She was acting very strange… Luke wasn't about to tell her so – she seemed happy and girls didn't like being called strange. So he attempted to ignore it as they walked through the forest paths.

"Will we wake anybody up?" Molly asked curiously.

"Nah! Pops is a heavy sleeper. Bo might hear someone in the kitchen – though he wouldn't expect it'd be me. Baking."

Molly laughed again. "So you don't cook much?"

"Never!"

"Huh. That's disappointing," She remarked.

He down looked at her walking by his side. The little flower barrette tangled in her brown hair seemed to be smiling up at him. She was shorter, but she kept up a steady pace with him along the path. Luke had to admit he was a little nervous about her being in his house. Had he ever had a girl over before?

Molly suddenly looked up to meet his stare with her own curious one. She cocked her head to the side. "What? Is something on my face?"

Luke blushed and grabbed for his bandana. "Uh, no – s'all good!"

"Oh," Molly said. She gave him a wide smile. "Good!"

Normally, Luke was pretty good at being dense. But nobody, not even Luke, could deny that Molly was very cute tonight. While he was wondering what the heck was going on, Molly was silently rejoicing that her adorable card seemed to be working. Apparently, Luke had a thing for cutesy girls. She could pull that off well enough.

The awkward pair trudged through the trees and finally came to a rickety wooden bridge. There was no rope or rail – just a bunch of lopsided boards across lazy water. Molly eyed it with some worry. "Where are we? I don't think I've ever been here before…"

Luke easily passed over the bridge, hands in his pockets. "This is just something Pops built so we could get around the forest easier. It's at the thinnest part of the river, but watch out – it's pretty deep!"

Molly's eyes bugged as she inched slowly along, testing each plank with her toe before placing her foot down. It didn't matter to her that Luke had just so casually crossed a moment before. The bridge creaked with agony at every touch, making her skin crawl. It was only about four meters long, so she didn't have much further to go.

Luke was giving her encouragement, her own personal cheerleader as she stared down at her feet in panic. "Come on, Molly! Just a few more steps – you're almost there! There ya go! Just think of it like an action movie – be the hero!"

A sudden idea popping into her head, Molly threw her cute act back into full swing. She cowered just before she would be close enough to step off the bridge, holding her hands tight over her heart. "But I don't want to be a hero! This is scary!"

The carpenter took pity on her, but still thought her actions were strange. The Molly he remembered was independent and fearless. He held out his hand from the bank. "Here, need some help?"

_Perfect._ Molly eyed his fingerless leather glove for a second before tentatively reaching for it. Her plan was working perfectly, and she was thinking she had created quite a romantic little moment. But the moment their hands made contact and they locked eyes, one of the boards under Molly creaked and snapped.

"Whoa – shit!" Molly cursed as her foot slipped into the icy water. Pulling on Luke for support, she made it across with a quick hop. Molly looked back at the broken plank in anger. "Stupid bridge… That scared the crap outta me!"

"Yeah, I know," Luke nodded. "And you just—"

"I did not!" Molly futilely denied cursing. It was becoming a growing habit around Luke, but she couldn't understand why. Being around him put her on edge. Molly let out a heavy sigh. "Well… At least that's over."

"Uh…"

"What?" She turned and looked into nervous amber eyes. Luke was holding his bandana in his fist behind his neck. Looking down, she saw that she was still tightly holding onto his hand. Despite herself, Molly blushed and quickly dropped the rough glove. "Er, right… Um, let's keep going."

"Right!" Luke quickly recovered and led the way.

It wasn't long before they exited the forest near the path to the Goddess Pond. Jumping onto open ground, Luke and Molly were a quick stroll away from the Carpenter's Shop.

Molly looked up at the waning moon as Luke tried to open the creaky door as silently as possible. Suddenly, the bell above the door started to jingle loudly. The farmer covered her mouth as her first instinct, but Luke reached up and held the aluminum bells in his fist. He snapped the cord and looked at the broken pieces in his hand.

She blinked her eyes in surprise, but Luke just gave a smile. "Eh, Pops never liked these anyways…"

Molly managed to quietly close the door behind them. When she turned around, the smell of sawdust engulfed her. The room was extremely dark, so Luke's form had completely disappeared.

"Luke!" She whispered harshly, holding her arms out to feel around. Her eyes couldn't adjust to the black, so she focused on the bluish tint of the window. "Where are you?!"

A bulb over her head flickered on a with a buzz, illuminating the room with dim yellow light. Luke stood under it with the string cord in his hand. "Chill out, Molly! You scared of the dark or something?"

"No!" Molly shook her head, her anger sparking again as she put her hands on her hips. A quick survey of the room held clouds of unsettled dust, a small work station with a table saw, and a cash register. She had almost walked right into the counter. Turning up her nose haughtily, she asked: "So where can we make this cake, huh? This doesn't exactly look… sanitary."

Luke looked around, not seeing the dirt like she did. He put a thumb over his shoulder. "Kitchen's that way."

Molly silently scolded herself for forgetting her cute card. She couldn't just say whatever she wanted. She had to be charming and _love_able. But the later the night was becoming, the more irritating that sounded to her. Shaking it off, Molly slapped a smile on. "Great!"

Marching into the next room over, the farmer had to wait for Luke to flip the light switch. When the overhead florescent started to glow, Molly's eyes rounded in horror.

Papers and dishes cluttered the table and counter – most of the clutter was coffee cups and stained mugs. An ashtray reeked with multiple cigar butts sticking out of it above the sink, and the plant in the window was withered to a brown stick crusted to the side of the pot.

Molly tentatively stepped forward, chancing to open a cupboard and finding disorganized plates, cups, and bowls. The first plate she picked up was chipped and food residue was stuck to it.

Sensing her disgust, Luke put a hand to his head and laughed. "Uh, I guess I kind of forgot that… well, the kitchen's a little crowded."

"Crowded?" Molly asked, slowly turning around. She held up the plate and looked around. "Luke, this is a mess!"

"Hey, keep it down, will ya?" Luke rushed her, putting a hand over her mouth. He stared at the ceiling for a minute before he was satisfied. "If we wake up Pops, he'll kill me! Like waking a bear…"

Molly shoved his hand from her face, already her hands falling to her hips. "Well, we can't work this way!"

"So what do you want me to do?" Luke asked. He was at the end of his rope here – what did she want out of him next? Break into someone else's kitchen? "Look, this is all we have…"

To his surprise, Molly smiled and shook her head. She sighed and put the plate in the sink. "Got a sponge?"

"Huh?"

Molly dug around the cabinet under the sink and found it herself with some dish soap. "Well, I'm not about to let you live like this. The task will just have to wait."

Did… Did Molly just say something _caring?_ And Luke had thought that she had completely turned into her boyfriend once she started dating him. It took him a moment, but Luke was quick to jump to her side by the sink to pitch in. "Uh, thanks, Molly… What do you want me to do?"

"Why don't you go through those papers and see what you want to keep? Then you can find me a mop, a towel, a bucket, and maybe some more soap…" A cursory glance around the room and she shook her head. "No, definitely more soap."

"Uh, okay!" Luke nodded, trying to remember her list. He counted the items on his fingers, mumbling to himself while he tried to silently go about the Carpentry to get them for her. _Did they even own a mop?_

Soon, Molly had all the dishes washed and she started to go about sorting the cabinets out. Luke was sitting at the kitchen table – bored out of his mind as he went through newspapers, order forms, and bills. With some help from Molly across the room, he put them into keep and toss piles.

"Now what?" Luke asked, stuffing the toss pile deep into the trash can.

Molly closed a drawer that now had only silverware with a satisfied smile. "Hm? Well, now you have to find a place for them."

"Aw…"

She rolled her eyes, but she didn't think his childishness was as irritating as before. Molly handed him the mop and bucket. "Here, I'll just put them on the counter for your father to go through. You mop the floor as fast as you can – but do a good job, okay?"

Luke caught the mop handle she pushed at him and saluted like a soldier. "Yes, ma'am!"

Molly laughed to herself, taking the stacks of papers into the other room. She put the receipts, orders, bills, and miscellany piles next to the register as neatly as she could. This kind of work reminded her of Town Hall. It was all the help she was over there. Organizing. Because no one got in Gill's way when he was on a mission, and Hamilton was more play than work.

She turned away with a sigh and re-entered the kitchen. Unfortunately, Molly forgot what it meant when someone was mopping and didn't feel the slippery floor until it was too late. Luke was across the room when Molly squealed and crashed to the floor with a loud squeak of her shoes.

"Molly, are you okay?!" Luke dropped the mop and started to run, but because he wasn't wise, he started to slide, too. Molly winced, but stared as Luke skidded across the floor. He splayed his arms to keep his balance, but it wasn't enough. He flew forward, landing hard on his stomach with a thud.

Molly blinked a second before she started to laugh. She laughed uncontrollably. She laughed hard. The girl held her stomach, sitting on the wet floor. "Oh my God! Hahaha - Luke…! You're so – haha – so stupid!"

Self-conscious, Luke turned red and put his forehead against the floor, content to just lie there. He was surprised when Molly's hands started to pull him up by the shoulders. She had crawled across the floor to meet him, still giggling to herself. Saddened and knowing she was right – he _was_ an idiot – Luke reluctantly pulled himself up and stared down.

Molly poked his forehead, but Luke didn't respond. She tilted her head down to look up at him and block his view of the floor. "Hey… Luke, you're not stupid because you fell. You're stupid because you care too much. I'm fine – you don't have to worry about me."

She surprised him further by giving him a tight hug. He awkwardly hovered his hands over her back, not sure if she would get mad or something. When he was about to hug her back, Molly pulled away and smiled. "Worrywart."

Luke was cheered up slightly. He was about to smile and shrug it off like always when Molly suddenly pulled his bandana off of his head. His blue messy layers exposed, Luke made for a grab for it and missed. "Hey! Gimme that!"

Molly put the bandana on her head, trying it on for size. She leaned out of his reach, dodging his attempts at getting it back as she tried to tighten it on her head. "How do you wear this all the time? Isn't it itchy?"

It was slumped comically over her eyes, the tie in the back sliding to the top of her head. Luke laughed and pushed it back from her face.

She was sure it made her brown hair plaster to her face in the most unbecoming way, but Luke was the one to surprise her this time when he said: "Hey, you don't look half bad. You ought to wear bandanas more often!"

Molly coughed and quickly handed it back to him. As Luke fixed his flame patterned bandana back into place, Molly waited for her blush to recede. She bit her lip and stared at the soapy floor underneath them. "I want to be the person you don't have to protect. The person you don't have to fuss about. You can just… relax… around me."

Luke blinked at her.

Molly put on a brave face and gave him a big smile. "'Kay?"

He nodded with a crooked smile. "Okay!"

They eventually finished cleaning the kitchen. All the cabinets were organized, the plates and cups and mugs were washed, the ashtray was cleaned near spotless, and the poor plant was thrown away. The table was cleared, and Molly was washing it down and Luke was now carefully finishing the mopping when a footfall in the front room made them both jump.

Bo, the young sandy-haired apprentice, appeared in the doorway. Bleary-eyed, he rubbed his freckled face sleepily wearing a T-shirt and pajama bottoms. "Luke? Is that you? What are you—?"

Molly and Luke stared like they were caught guilty as Bo stared back. His eyes slowly roved around the kitchen in disbelief. "What are you guys doing…?"

Before Molly could speak, Luke put the mop against the wall and jumped in front of Bo. "You're sleep-walking! This is all a dream! Weird, right?"

Molly gaped. _Seriously?! That was the best he could come up with?_

But Bo blinked, rubbed his eyes, and yawned. "Yeah… weird."

Luke took Bo by the shoulders and led him away from the kitchen. "You better get to bed – quick before the – er – ghosts come…?"

Bo didn't seem convinced. Luke frantically waved at Molly behind his back. Getting the hint, Molly cupped her hands to her mouth and made high-pitched, ghostly moans. "Ooo! Oooo!"

As Molly desperately tried not to laugh, Bo's eyes widened and he let Luke lead him away. "Whoa, Luke, we've gotta hurry!"

Luke gave Molly a thumbs up as he continued to push the boy from the room. "Yeah, I'm right behind ya, buddy! Run! Run away…! Don't look back!"

The door to the back room finally closed behind him. Luke came back to the kitchen, leaning against the wall with a sigh. "And… there you go."

Molly finally allowed herself a quiet giggle. "Wow! I… would never have thought of that. A bit unorthodox, but it worked! I've got to hand it to you – good thinking, Luke."

He shrugged. "Gotta think outside the box!"

"Extreme thinking?" Molly ventured with a finger to her chin.

Luke made a daring pose and wordlessly said his motto. Molly laughed again and shook her head. "Well, your kitchen's clean. But you don't have the ingredients for a cake anyways."

Luke looked surprised, dropping his arms. "Oh, we don't?"

Molly went to the fridge to prove it. Swinging the door open for him to see, she displayed the near empty shelves. "Yeah. Pickles, mustard, and salami can't make a cake."

"Could be a pretty extreme cake…"

She shook her head and closed the fridge. "No. Not extreme. Gross. …And possibly life-threatening."

Luke chuckled and nodded. "Fair enough!"

Molly was surprised she had made him laugh. She looked down at her shoes. "You know… this wasn't so bad. It was kind of fun."

Getting an idea, Luke perked up like a dog when it hears something. "Hey, so could that be your dream? Wanna be a maid?"

Molly stared, actually shocked he had remembered all of that business. She shook her head. "Nah… I don't mind it, but… it's not exactly dream material."

"Okay. Maybe next time we'll find something," Luke shrugged and yawned.

Molly's eyes widened, and she turned to the window. Dawn was rapidly approaching. The black was tinged with blue and purple. Pink was gathering in the lowest clouds. "Whoa, I have to go!"

"Huh?"

Her feet carried her to the door. "It'll just have to wait, okay? I'll see you tomorrow, Luke!"

Luke followed her. "But what do I need to make a cake?"

"You don't know?!"

"I told you I don't bake!"

"Just get eggs, flour, butter—"

"I can't remember all of that!"

"Uh – quick, get me some paper!"

"Okay, here!"

"Luke, I need a pencil, too!"

"Oh, sorry – um…"

"Luke! Hurry up!"

"Okay, here!"

Molly snatched the pen and rapidly started to scribble down the ingredients from memory, the crumbled notebook paper up against the uneven door as she wrote. Scanning over the ingredients quickly, she thrust the list into Luke's hands and accidentally dropped the pen. "Everything you need is on that list – for heaven's sake, don't lost it! Bye!"

She disappeared out the door in a flash. Molly didn't look back as she scrambled into the woods just in time. The first rays of the sun touched the ground over the Garmon Mountain, and she was consumed in light. Molly flapped her new wings and flew out of sight over the trees.

* * *

Molly was gone. The Witch was soon out the door after her, pulling at the hideous beige skirt Molly always wore. They tested the spell, and seeing as everything looked okay at a glance, Molly hurried off to meet up with Luke for a 'task.'

Now it was Vivi's turn.

The Witch stepped across the grass before her cottage. Clouds passed over the glimmering silver moon in the sky. She observed this for awhile, thinking about what this trip meant.

The brown weasel encircled her feet lovingly, but the other animal friends of Molly were nowhere to be seen. Vivi looked distastefully down at the creature. Archie suddenly realized this was an imposter and scurried away as fast as he came.

"Humph," she said, looking back at the sky. "Well… Here goes nothing, old girl."

She snapped her fingers and was gone in a cloud of smoke, the mist devouring it.

Vivi reappeared, staggering to regain her balance on the dirt road just outside of Harmonica Town. It was lower and closer to the sea than she remembered. There was also a new path that led down to the beach from the cliff for casual strolls. Funny. People in Vivi's era didn't have time for such trivial things.

The Witch let out an enormous sigh, letting her disguised brown eyes drink up every detail of the harbor town. There were more colors than she remembered. And the fancy, solar-powered street lamps were new. Then again, Vivi could remember a time when there was just a lighthouse, a clock tower, and a jagged path leading up the cliff side to The Wizard's lonely house…

She shook her head and took a brave step forward. "Here's to entering Harmonica Town… Hopefully, I don't curse anybody this time around…"

A quick investigation in the low evening light brought Vivi to the door of the Town Hall. She rapped upon the wood, but no one answered. Making her way up the stone ramp, she tried the quaint house with the rose arbor. Because honestly, who else in this town would have a rose arbor?

The Witch knocked on the door and patiently swayed back and forth. When her patience was up, she rapped upon the door again. It was almost immediately opened. "Hello, hello – what's the big hurry? Oh! Molly!"

"Hello," Vivi greeted dryly. This time around, she had no intentions of acting as Molly. Her appearance was disguise enough and any further effort would exhaust her. "I've come to apologize about—"

"Where have you been? Everyone's been looking for you since the festival! I can't believe how you acted and then just… just ran off like that!" Gill crossed his arms over his vest and frowned.

Vivi shifted her weight, one hand sassily on her hip. "Look, I'm here to apologize, so shut up!"

Gill froze, mouth parting slightly in surprise.

The Molly double flicked the hair from her face and continued. "Sure, I guess I was acting strange, but it won't happen again. So I advise you just forget about the whole thing."

Her fiancé stared with an incredulous expression.

"Sorry," Vivi finished shortly, giving the floor to him.

Gill hesitated and then shut his mouth. He thought it over for a moment, looked at Vivi's very un-amused face, and decided: "Very well. Apology accepted."

"Good," The Witch nodded. She was still working on getting comfortable in Molly's skin. Her frame wasn't as lithe as the one she was used to, so she felt her shoulders sagging every now and again. But Molly was much sturdier than Vivi, and as a farmer, she had much more muscle. The Witch rather felt like she had super human strength compared to her usual self. It was a joke that someone so toned as Molly should be with a jerk twig like Gill.

The mayor's son couldn't read exactly what The Witch was thinking, but he could tell she was sizing him up. _Molly seemed to be doing that a lot lately…_ He snapped his fingers to get her attention, but that only made her angry. "Well, I might as well tell you we'll need to order a few decorations early."

"Early?" Vivi asked.

Gill sighed. "Yes, early. You can't just whip these wedding things up in no time."

"You did the first time we planned this," Vivi played along with a smirk.

He pursed his lips in aggravation.

The Witch rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "Okay, okay. So what do we have to order?"

"Couldn't we go over this at a decent hour?" Gill rubbed his eyes. He looked down at his watch. "It's past eleven. Why don't you come over tomorrow afternoon, and we can pick and choose from father's manuals then?"

Vivi didn't know what the hell 'manuals' was, but she reluctantly had to agree. Only guilt was egging her on now. She wouldn't spend time with this prick for anything else._ For Molly's sake._ With a sigh, she gave him a sweet smile. "Alright, see you tomorrow then! Good night!"

Gill nodded and closed the door. Vivi was grateful he wasn't romantic and tried anything – she wouldn't have been able to stomach that.

Turning on her heel and grumbling to herself, The Witch left town and poofed herself home, wondering what kinds of adventures the real Molly was having that evening.


	19. The Fourth Task

Thanks for reviewing Hoprocker, ShermanTheWorm, CAPJHMPAgirl, and Lalala! I love Luke, so it's been really fun writing scenes with him. It's great you guys like it, too!

Also, I'm glad I'm not the only one who hates tormenting Gill. But the ending has been decided, so we'll just have to wait and see what happens, hm?

I also want to apologize. I usually mix words up when I write that have a similar spelling. Most often it's 'done' and 'down.' But 'head' and 'hand' are the newest confusion, so I apologize ahead of time if they get mixed up. Like last chapter. UGH. I'm so dumb. Dx

Oh, um, hey **WARNING**. This chapter is huge. Sorry, not sorry?

Thanks so much for reading, everybody! :D

* * *

**The Fourth Task**

* * *

_This is the worst idea ever…_

Vivi let out an obnoxiously loud yawn and stretched her arms over her head. Though she technically didn't need sleep, this whole swan business was making her weary. She felt like she could curl up and snuggle into the covers for a month.

Molly was sleeping. All happy at home in the lake. She said something about a cake, but Vivi was barely listening. It seemed she was handling things well with Luke. Which sounded almost fun.

But there was _this_ dunderhead to deal with.

The Witch pointedly glared at the man next to her on the sofa. Though he wasn't a touchy, feely person, he was sat next to Vivi too close for comfort. Though she was grateful he didn't smell like the breath mints she was sure he consumed hourly by his dorkish appearance, it was still difficult to focus.

"What do you think of this one, Molly?" Gill pointed at a picture captured in plastic laminate.

Vivi was slouched, so she had to pitch forward with a groan. Elbows on her knees, she held up her head in her hands and lazily eyed the selections in the book. "Hm… eh. I don't know."

Gill tried not to roll his eyes. Molly had been acting like this all afternoon. She was moody, indecisive, and altogether vile. She was sweet _before_ he proposed… _What happened?_ "Look, you have to choose something… Unless you want to sit around looking at pictures of flowers and ribbons all day – I certainly don't."

She was intently staring at his face, making his skin prickle. Molly's eyes narrowed as her finger moved forward and poked a stray hair atop his head. "Cowlick. You should fix that."

Gill snatched her wrist, forcing her to stop touching his hair. "It's fine – don't worry about it."

Molly's mouth turned into a wicked grin. "I bet you like it. You style it like that, don't you?"

Flustered, Gill let go of her arm and quickly turned away. "Would you please stop trying to start a fight with me? Just pick something out!"

With a huff, she obeyed. Molly's eyes became wide and cat-like as they roved over the binders before them on the coffee table with interest. She made a few humming sounds as she flipped the pages. Gill watched her and finally relaxed against the back of the couch. _At least she was cooperating now…_

The Witch was irritated using Molly's eyes – they were incredibly blurry compared to her perfect vision. Not to mention, planning a wedding was not part of the deal. The question: 'what would Molly choose?' was getting very annoying. Vivi was fed up with thinking of ways to please her and decided that she would just plan the wedding the way she liked. Boohoo if Molly didn't like it… But honestly, The Witch's tastes were impeccable. Of course Molly would love it.

_Perhaps it could even be fun…_

"Okay, I like this one," Vivi decided in Molly's chipper voice.

Gill sat up and looked at her planted finger with a growl rising in his throat. "But it's a winter wedding…"

"So?" The Witch griped, crossing her arms.

"Orange?" Gill asked. His living room felt like it was closing in on him. _Why was she being so… so…?!_ "That just won't go with the color scheme."

"But I like it," Vivi insisted.

Gill bit his tongue. He moved her hand away and flipped back a few pages. "What about these? Forget-me-nots are closer to—"

"Ew, that's ugly!" She whined, throwing herself back against the couch.

"Is everything alright in here, love birds?" Mayor Hamilton teased, poking his head through the door.

Gill slowly turned to his father, slicking his hair back. He gave him a convincing smile. "Yes, father. Just making some… _more_ decisions."

Hamilton looked down at his watch and frowned with concern. "You two haven't picked out the flowers yet? You've been in here for two hours!"

Vivi smacked her lips in frustration as if to say 'tell me about it.' Gill was ready to snap.

A knowing look coming to his face, Hamilton smiled wide. "Oh…! I get it. Sorry for interrupting!"

"Father!" Gill scolded, finally rolling his eyes. It was somehow therapeutic for him. "It's nothing like that—"

"I'll just be at the office!" Hamilton ignored him. His grey curls disappeared down the hall, but his voice came back. "I'll leave you crazy kids to your antics!"

"Oh, God…" his poor son held his forehead.

Vivi was smirking like the little devil she was behind the guise of Molly. At first, the insinuation was sickening to her, but seeing Gill so traumatized certainly cheered her up quite a bit. Still, she didn't bother saying anything. Hamilton had said it all, really.

Tucking her legs underneath her, Vivi snuggled into the couch and closed her eyes.

"Molly? Molly, there's no time for napping! Can we just get this over with?"

"Humph," Vivi whined again, playing with her strange, short brown hair between her fingers.

"Will you stop being so difficult? Make a decision!" Gill barked at the end of his patience.

Vivi remained stubborn. "I want the tiger lilies!"

Gill let out a sigh. "Look, you were set on the winter wedding – not me. Tiger lilies wouldn't match the color scheme. You wanted blues, whites, purples—"

"Purple?" The Witch bolted up, surprising Gill so much he jumped in his seat. Fingers to her lips, Vivi mumbled: "Oh, I like purple…"

Gill nearly flopped to the ground in exasperation. He fixed his blue eyes on the ceiling and straightened his bolo. "Yes. Very well then. Progress…"

"Yay!" Vivi clapped. "Okay, so can I leave?"

Gill motioned to the book. "You didn't pick anything out!"

"Hell…" she cursed.

"What did you say?"

"Swell!"

* * *

The door creaked on its hinges, making Molly cringe. She quickly edged her way in and slowly closed it. Once it clicked in place, Molly let out a sigh. She turned and tip toed across the wooden planks, trying to remember where everything was in the dark. The light of the kitchen was her only beacon, and she was soon safe around the corner. "Luke?"

Dishes clattered together in an awful ruckus as Luke jumped in surprise. Molly rushed forward and caught a drinking glass before it hit the floor.

"Er – thanks, Molly! I didn't hear you come in…" Luke whispered, hugging the dishes he nearly dropped.

Molly took some away from him to ease the load. "It was my fault. I was going to knock, but I didn't want to wake anyone up. So much for that, eh?"

They cleared away the things Luke was washing in the sink. "Aren't you early? How'd you get here?"

Molly shrugged. "I remembered the path. And I figured that we could use all the time we could get… What are you doing anyways?"

Luke dried off the last plate. "Uh – washing dishes… Pops and Bo made things messy again – you wouldn't have believed the look on their faces when they saw the kitchen this morning!"

"What did you tell them? You hired a secret Cinderella?" Molly laughed, taking the dish and putting it away.

"I didn't say anything," he shrugged, reaching for his bandana. "I just pretended not to know."

"I guess that's for the best," Molly nodded. She suddenly looked down. "Um… so have you told anyone?"

"What, about the kitchen?"

She shook her head. "I mean… about the whole swan… thing…"

Luke's eyes widened with surprise. "No way, Molly! I'd never tell!"

"Sh-sh!" Molly held up her hands. They both looked around for a minute before deciding they still hadn't woken up anyone. "Careful… Don't want to wake up Bo again."

"I'd never tell," Luke insisted, shaking his head.

"Why not?" Molly asked, tucking some stray hair behind her ear.

"Why not?" Luke echoed in confusion. His hand held the knot of his bandana. "Er, I don't know… It just doesn't sound like anybody's business. And I don't see how anyone can help… Unless Dr. Jin has a fancy serum of some kind that can poof you back to normal."

Molly tried not to, but she giggled at the theory. "Okay, I didn't think you would… But, you're right. It's not really something anyone can help… Thank you."

They were awkwardly quiet for a moment. The kitchen felt very large.

Molly quickly recovered the atmosphere and clapped her hands. "Okay, cake time! Did you get everything on that list?"

Luke smiled and nodded. He hurried to the counter like a loyal puppy, pointing at the display he had made. "Ta-da! It was some extreme grocery shopping, but I think I got it all!"

Molly made a cursory inspection and retrieved the eggs he had forgotten in the fridge. When she was done, she smiled wide. "Great job, Luke! I knew I could count on you!"

She punched him in the shoulder. He held the spot even though it didn't hurt. "Um, right!"

"Okay, you get started cracking the eggs into this bowl," Molly went to the cupboard and took out a large mixing bowl. She handed it to him with the carton of eggs. "I'll get to work measuring out the sugar and flour. Measuring cups were in the left cabinet, right?"

"Uh, yeah, I think so…" Luke agreed without thinking. He was too focused on the eggs in his hand. "Uh…"

Molly took out the measuring cups and got to work. She opened the bag of flour with a tug and looked at Luke, seeing he was still watching her. "What's the matter, Luke?"

"I don't cook, remember?" Luke bit the inside of his lip, his amber eyes looking everywhere but at Molly now that her attention was focused on him.

Molly smiled. She walked across the kitchen and took the mixing bowl from him, setting it on the counter top. She held her hand out for an egg, and Luke opened the carton and carefully handed her one. "I'm not going to do it for you, but I'm going to show you, okay? Just hold it on the edge of the bowl like this, tap it firmly – gentle, but firm enough to get a good hit – and then you'll put your thumbs against the crack and pull the shell apart. Okay?"

"Uh… okay," Luke nodded, not getting much of it but willing to try.

"Great! Now watch out for shell pieces, okay? Nobody likes egg shell in their food," Molly handed him the egg and went back to the flour bag.

Luke eyed the egg. "Gentle… but… firm?"

Molly overheard his self-coaching and watched him out of the corner of her eye.

The rough carpenter held the tiny white egg in his fingerless gloves like it was made of glass. He remembered the firm part at the last minute as he let the egg come down against the side of the bowl and hit too hard. The shell shattered and the yolk oozed out along the counter in a smashed mess. "Whoops."

Molly laughed and hurried over with paper towel. She quickly wiped up the wasted egg. "Don't worry about it – it's easy, I promise! Since we need three, I'll do one and you do the other two. Is that fair?"

"I'm not good at math, but I'm pretty sure that leaves more for me," Luke argued as he picked shell pieces off of the leather gloves.

Molly made a face and grabbed his wrist. She expertly wove the strap back through the buckle and took one of his gloves off. Luke gasped in horror as she reached for his other hand, but he protected it. "Hey, why the gloves?! What gives?"

"Luke, you should wash your hands _after_ you take these off. These are your work gloves… or… your… they're your everything gloves. Do you want them in your food?"

"Well…"

"Oh, come on!" Molly insisted, making a grab for his left hand. He dodged her again. "Just for awhile – I'm not going to destroy them! It's not like I don't like them, too."

"You like my gloves?" Luke asked, confused.

Molly blanched and quickly snatched his hand, tearing his glove off. "Er – I guess they're unique… I guess… I don't know – I have work gloves, too, but I take them off when I cook, so… just… never mind!"

Worried he upset her somehow, Luke did what he was told and washed his hands as Molly put his gloves off to the side.

_What was wrong with her? Why couldn't she answer a simple question? And why did she just blurt that out? 'I like your gloves?' What the hell?! Focus on the task at hand, girly. Make a cake! And stop embarrassing yourself._

Molly took a deep breath after her inner pep talk and came back with a smile. Luke was staring at his naked hands like they were from another planet. "Ready to work?"

"Work?" Luke asked, drawing his focus away from his hands.

"Yeah! Cooking is an extreme occupation!" Molly punched the palm of her hand with determination.

To her surprise, Luke wasn't swayed by the word 'extreme.' He just stared at her doubtfully.

Rolling her eyes, Molly picked up another egg. "Just watch me, okay? It's quite simple if you just—"

Molly brought the egg against the rim of the bowl and did the exact same thing Luke did. She stared down at the broken, gooey mess in her hand with wide eyes.

Luke laughed and pointed. "Ha, it's easy, right? You promised, too!"

Molly let out a huff and quickly washed off her hand. "Okay, okay, it was a screw up. Happens to everybody! Will you stop laughing at me already?!"

Luke was still laughing, so she hit him with the towel in good humor. She got another egg and executed a near perfect demonstration her second try. "Aha! There we go – see? Now you try."

Back in the spotlight, Luke was suspicious as he picked up another egg, and Molly stepped aside. "Are you sure some eggs don't just explode?"

"It's possible," Molly shrugged as she tossed the shell in the trash. "Find out!"

Luke set his face into concentration mode as he brought the egg down. He was too rough, so Molly grabbed his arm to stop him.

"Gentle!" She cautioned. Holding his hand, she demonstrated the amount of force he would need in the air. "Like that, okay? Just remember – gentle…"

Molly went back to the measuring cups as Luke tried again. She heard the crack of the egg and then a victorious whoop that didn't heed those still sleeping in the house. "Molly! Molly, I did it! Look!"

The farmer gave him an enthusiastic thumbs up when she saw the empty egg shell. "Wooo! Great job, Luke! One more to go though."

"Pfft, piece of cake," Luke waved her off. "This is easy!"

"Told you so…" Molly shook her head as she brushed the excess flour back into the bag.

The pair worked well as a team as they finished the recipe. Luke was in charge of mixing because that was fun for him, and Molly went about doing the odd jobs in between. They set the oven right and put the pan of liquid batter on the rack and shut the door.

"Now we just have to wait… a half an hour," Molly sighed. "Well, that gives us time to clean up! I'll wash if you dry?"

"Yes, ma'am!" Luke saluted.

"Hop to it!" Molly pushed him towards the sink. She loaded the dishes and started to scrub them as Luke found a dry towel. They chatted about the cake as they washed dishes.

"I wish we could eat it," Luke said. "Oh, well. It'll be worth it! Maybe we can make another cake just to eat?"

"We'll see," Molly smiled.

"Hey, Molly?"

"Mm-hm?"

Luke seemed nervous to ask, but he gave it a try. "How many tasks are left?"

Molly was quiet. It was funny, but she didn't even think about how to create a 'romantic moment' or whatever tonight. For the first time since her mess had started, Molly didn't worry about how to end it. It was strange that it just… never occurred to her. But maybe something else was.

Like how kind Luke was for doing all of this. And how trusting he was of her. How he believed whatever she said about the swan spell and all these tasks without question. He was becoming a real person in her eyes. Someone with the ability to make decisions, and have opinions, and care. Not just some crazy carpenter with blue hair. Luke was remarkably selfless, and perseverant, and fun. He made a big deal out of the little things, but it made life more exciting to fawn over every accomplishment like he did.

But now she was reminded that the trust he held for her would be shattered. Molly would break him and all that he was just so she could save herself.

"Molly? Sorry – I didn't mean to complain or anything! I was just curious—" Luke interrupted her thoughts.

Molly shook her head. "Never apologize to me, Luke," she said darkly. And that was that.

Luke was confused by her answer. He frowned, but he didn't say anything. Apparently, it was something Molly didn't want to talk about. And it was something that bothered her. Maybe the tasks never ended? Luke felt sick at the thought. Would he be making up for one mistake for the rest of his life? What about Molly? Would she be trapped like this for the rest of her life?

"Well, don't worry, Molly," Luke decided, drying the giant bowl and putting it in the cupboard. "I'll get you out of this. Whatever it takes!"

Molly whimpered and dropped the mixing spoon.

"Molly? What's the matter?" Luke asked, afraid he upset her again.

"I – ow – um, got soap in my eye!" Molly lied, rubbing at her face with her wrist. "How lame is that?"

"Pretty lame," Luke admitted.

Molly laughed and shook her head clear. "Okay, let's just finish these dishes."

After the dishes were done and the counters were cleared, they had quite a bit of time left on the clock. So Molly adventured into the main room to have a look around.

Luke pulled the string above their heads, turning on the light. The yellow glow lit up the musty room. Everything smelled like pine and fresh sawdust.

"So is this where you work?" Molly asked, curiously examining a station.

"Nah, that's Bo's spot. I work here – ta-da!" He bounded ahead of her and displayed his station excitedly.

Molly noted the disorganization and dust. _Should've known._ She smiled and pointed at the table saw. "Wow, that's awfully big. What do you use it for?"

"Cutting wood!" He said.

It really was the most obvious thing in the world. Molly rolled her eyes. "Okay… Well, what kinds of things do you do? You guys make furniture, right?"

Luke nodded. He went around the table and pulled out an end table. It was rather small – the kind you would put next to a sofa, so it was light enough for him to lift with one hand. Though Molly wouldn't be much surprised by what he could lift with one hand. She was starting to notice how strong he was since that egg fiasco where he couldn't control his strength.

"Wow, did you make that?" She gaped in awe.

"Team effort," Luke explained. "See, I do most of the collecting and stuff. I get the wood, and then I cut the wood. Pops designs the stuff, or we follow a preset pattern. Bo does lots of carving and staining."

"So did you cut this out?" Molly moved her hand along the smooth, rounded edge. It had a square design that had its corners inverted and pointed and rounded off to make it look almost flower-like. "This is really impressive! Dare I say – extreme?"

"Oh, you can dare!" Luke said proudly. He set the table back under his station. "But, uh, thanks…"

Molly bit her lip and quickly turned around. "Better go check on the cake! Can you smell it?"

"Smells great!" Luke followed her. "But not for eating – I remembered!"

Molly nodded sadly and re-entered the kitchen. The timer was about to go off, so she quickly silenced it before it set off an alarm that would surely wake up the other carpenters. Luke found the potholders first, so Molly opened the oven door and he carefully reached inside. Though he smiled when he saw the cake, Molly's face fell.

Luke set it on the counter with pride. "Looks great!"

"Great?" Molly asked dejectedly. "What happened?"

The cake was lumpy and there were strange puddles on the top that appeared to be some sort of burned grease.

Luke scratched his head and shrugged. "Well, I think it looks edible."

"Oh, darn it! What went wrong?!" Molly stomped. She furiously started to go back through her routine, pulling out utensils and going over the crumpled recipe list. Finally, she let out a groan as she held the measuring cups.

"What's the matter? Find the problem?" Luke stopped morbidly poking the cake with curiosity.

"I misread the…" Molly mumbled, shaking her head. "I… That's burned sugar on the top. I don't know how I added that much, but I…"

She knew what went wrong. Molly didn't misread the measuring cups. She was so distracted teaching Luke about the eggs that she had doubled – maybe tripled the sugar and flour. Everything was thrown off from her forgetfulness. And her stupidity.

Molly sank down until she sat on the floor, tears welling in her eyes. It was a mixture of her failure and the ever-increasing stress on her shoulders. "It's all my fault… I'm so sorry, Luke. I… I guess I'm not the best cook. I'll make an awful wife…"

Luke wasn't the best when a girl started crying, and when he saw Molly's tear-filled eyes staring up at him like she had just committed the worst sin imaginable, he wasn't sure what to do. But he rambled like he always did because cheering her up was worth a try. "Hey, it's not like it's the girl's job to do all the cooking. I mean… just look at Chase! He cooks all the time, and he's not a girl… Well, not really…"

Molly laughed at that and wiped her eyes. She thought it over and laughed again, harder this time. Luke smiled, glad he was able to distract her. He lifted her up by the arms, and Molly brushed herself off. "Sorry, Luke…"

"Hey, it's no big deal. I'm an expert egg cracker now! Our next cake will be awesome!" He pumped his fist.

"Want to make it a time challenge?" Molly asked, glad they had started early. She wiped her eyes again to make sure all the tears were gone. "We have to make it perfect, but we have to race!"

"As fast as we can?" Luke asked excitedly.

"As fast as we can!" Molly repeated the cheer.

They high-fived and quickly ran down the list again. They collected the materials, measured everything out again (very carefully), and stirred everything up faster than professionals. Or so they liked to think. When it was in its last minutes in the oven, the dishes were all washed again, and everything was put away, Molly and Luke crashed at the kitchen table yawning.

"Great job, Luke… I think we did it right this time…" Molly mumbled, her head face down.

"You mean _you_ did it right this time? Because I was pretty awesome both times," Luke teased, leaning back and putting his arms behind his head.

Molly lifted her head and stuck her tongue out at him. "Hey, you needed excessive training! Like you have room to talk…"

"So what do you say?" Luke asked, his feet on the table now. "Is it your dream to be a chef?"

Molly scoffed and pushed his feet off. "Ha! Yeah, right. This is way too hard and calculating… I'm afraid the answer is a definite 'no.' But this wasn't so bad. You know… as a team."

Luke nodded.

The timer shrilled, and the pair scrambled to shut it off. On round two, Luke pulled out the cake and Molly let out a sigh of relief. It was domed over the pan just like it was supposed to be.

"Phew! Now all we have to do is…" Molly looked out the window, and her heart jumped into her mouth. Dawn was already rapidly approaching. "Nothing! Nothing; it's perfect!"

"Don't you need frosting?" Luke asked, looking it over.

"Pfft, no! It's a pound cake!" Molly smiled.

"Oh. Okay!" Luke nodded. "Need help carrying it back?"

"N-no, it's fine. I've got it," Molly picked the pan up. "Um, I'll return the pan soon, okay?"

"Oh, sure," he agreed. He watched Molly's eyes and followed them to look out the window. The sun was minutes from appearing. Luke yawned. _This sleep schedule was really bizarre._ "Looks like you better get going, huh?"

"Thanks so much for understanding," Molly said and hurried to the door. The pan was still hot, so she struggled to carry it. Luke handed her the potholders and told her to return them with the pan. Everything was going smoothly until he opened the door, and Molly stepped outside.

The sun's tendrils of light started to seep across the ground in the forest. The pan clattered to the dirt. Like she was hit by a bolt of lightning, Molly yelped in surprise.

"Molly!" Luke reached, thinking she tripped. The flower pin in her hair was loose enough that it fell easily from her hair and into this hand. He stared in shock at the hair pin in the palm of his hand, and then at the ball of light that Molly became. In a flash, she had shrunken down to a third of her size. Molly's arms stretched out and her neck grew long. Her skin sparkled and became a pure white; the downy feathers ruffled with the breeze coming from the cliffs. Molly was a swan.

Luke stood there blinking dumbly for a second. Molly was quite the same, and the honk that escaped her beak only made matters worse. She was quickly overcome by embarrassment and shame. Flapping her wings, Molly took off running towards the woods.

"Hey, Molly, wait!" Luke called, but it didn't matter. She was long gone.

_Why was that so embarrassing?!_ Molly cursed herself. _Why couldn't I keep an eye on the time? Why did I have to change in front of him like that? He probably thinks I'm disgusting…!_

Molly continued to ridicule and feel sorry for herself until she was nearly home at the cottage. Dodging trees left and right, Molly made to ascend. She wasn't paying enough attention to where she was flying, and she didn't clear the canopy before snagging herself on a thick patch of briars. The thorns tore at her wings and brought her to a dead halt. The scream she uttered rang through the dense wood.

"Now you've done it!" Molly cursed aloud. "Ah, damn, this hurts… Hey! Archie! Speed? Romeo? Anybody, help!"

Her calls went echoing through the forest. She waited a moment, but there was no returning sound. There was only the tumbling of leaves in the wind.

In the early morning light, it was difficult to see through the shadows. Molly squinted and called again. With the ruckus she was making, she was sure someone would hear her. But what Molly didn't count on seeing was a fox.

Molly the human could call out for help when she was in trouble. Molly the swan had to fend for herself or alert predators. She never considered _not_ being at the top of the food chain.

Her heart beat rapidly as the cat-like shadow slinked through the shadows of the trees. The red coat glimmered in the rare rays of sun. Its bushy tail was always the last to disappear completely. Leaves crunched as it neared, sniffing the air. Its eyes glowed yellow whenever they turned to Molly.

Molly couldn't think of enough curse words for her predicament. _What could she do?!_ She struggled against the brush, but no matter how hard she pulled against the pain, the vines of thorns only seemed to stick her deeper. Her wings and body were streaked with red scratches.

She appeared to be completely defenseless. She couldn't move, and she only had to wait for the fox to approach. _But then again… it was an animal, too, right?_ _Why not reason?_ "Hello! Hello, out there! Mr. Fox?"

The yellow eyes peered out from behind a tree that was much too close for comfort. She flinched but attempted geniality. "Hello! Mr. Fox, I presume? My name is Molly."

The eyes disappeared, unnerving her. But she continued to prattle. "I would really appreciate it if you found one of my friends for me. Do you know Archie, perhaps? Or Speed the turtle? What about Romeo – he's a tanuki. Quite ill-tempered, if you ask me, but I know he'll be upset if I'm not home. In fact, they're probably looking for me already. Could be here any second, actually – AH!"

The fox sprinted out of the brush and made a grab for her. Molly trumpeted and pulled her legs up. The fox hissed and fell back to the ground, landing deftly on its feet. It bared its tiny, pointed teeth at her angrily. It couldn't quite reach her, so it started to dig and paw at the briars.

Obviously, the fox wasn't in for a conversation. If Molly learned anything from her weeks of being a bird, there was one gift she had other than flight that she could still use. So Molly did all she could do and trumpeted her swan song as loud as she could.

Because she was making so much noise, someone decided to enter the forest – quite ignoring the morning chores for the adventure. Parting branches and jogging over roots, a girl came sprinting to follow the call that she was sure she knew.

When she was close enough to see, Renee gasped and put a hand to her mouth. The Trumpeter Swan that Anissa had seen back in spring was before her, caught in a tangle of thorns. It wasn't until the last moment that the rancher noticed the fox.

"Shoo! Shoo! Get out of here!" Renee flailed her arms, running at the fox.

The creature panicked and skittered off into the woods without a fight. The leaves it kicked up were the last Molly saw of it.

The swan continued to struggle as Renee neared. "Sh, sh… My, how did you get in there? Poor thing…"

Molly allowed herself to be fawned over while Renee assessed the situation. It was very awkward for her – the second human to see her in one day! _What rotten luck._

Renee bit her lip. She could fetch some clippers to get rid of the briars, but she was worried that the fox might come back if she left. And Renee would never forgive herself for leaving a hurt animal defenseless. The girl with the close cropped hair hummed and made a decision.

"Okay, this might catch a bit. Try not to struggle too much," Renee coached as she reached her arms into the thorns. Since Molly was really a conscious human being, she cooperated and was careful not to move so Renee wouldn't get hurt. Very slowly and carefully, Renee started to untangle the mess and bend the vines out of the way. Molly winced as a nasty cluster was pulled from the feathers around her wing.

Soon, Molly was free, but she was exhausted and the cuts were stinging. But before she could protest and go to Vivi, Renee expertly scooped her up and firmly held her wings close. "You're very docile, aren't you? Probably domesticated… Don't you worry – I'll fix you up in no time. The forest is no place for someone like you. I'm sure you'll like the farm! When you're better, you can sleep in the coop with the chickens and ducks. Mama and Papa will love to have you!"

If Molly could gulp, she would have.


End file.
